Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Has $45.92 Million Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management increased its stake in Progressive by 9.5% in the first quarter, holding 231,062 shares worth about $45.9 million.
• Wall Street sentiment on Progressive remains mixed: analysts currently have an average rating of “Hold” with an average price target of $236.47.
• Progressive posted stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.80 per share, and it also announced a $0.10 quarterly dividend payable on July 10.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 9.5% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 231,062 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 20,138 shares during the period. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $45,921,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $615,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $609,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 12.0% during the 2nd quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Evercore reissued a "negative" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $313.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. UBS Group raised their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $236.47.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $232.62 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $135.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.78 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.70. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $254.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.03%.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.

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