Saudi Central Bank Acquires 19,311 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Saudi Central Bank increased its Progressive stake by 89.2% in the second quarter, adding 19,311 shares for a total holding of 40,948 shares valued at approximately $8.95 million.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $5.67, beating estimates of $4.64, while revenue rose 5% year over year to $23.61 billion. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with an average “Hold” rating and a $236.26 price target; Progressive also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, while insiders sold shares under pre-arranged trading plans.

Saudi Central Bank increased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 89.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 40,948 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 19,311 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank's holdings in Progressive were worth $8,945,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $26,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Progressive by 235.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the period. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the second quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $218.41 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $217.56 and a 200-day moving average of $207.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $249.71. The firm has a market cap of $126.98 billion, a PE ratio of 10.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.50, for a total transaction of $8,195,691.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 485,438 shares of the company's stock, valued at $106,553,641. This represents a 7.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Murphy sold 8,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total transaction of $1,727,974.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,782,595.70. This represents a 16.44% 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. Insiders sold 113,714 shares of company stock valued at $24,466,294 in the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group restated a "hold" rating and issued a $228.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price target for the company from $226.00 to $250.00 in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 17th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $236.26.

Progressive 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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