Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 12,365 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Securian Asset Management cut its Progressive stake by 43.7% in the fourth quarter, selling 12,365 shares and leaving it with 15,945 shares valued at about $3.63 million.
• Progressive’s stock was trading near $193.85, close to its 12-month low, while the company’s market cap stood at about $113.27 billion and its P/E ratio was 9.86.
• The insurer beat earnings expectations in its latest quarter with EPS of $4.80 versus $4.67 expected, though revenue came in below forecasts; analysts currently have an average Hold rating and a $238.39 price target.

Securian Asset Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 43.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 15,945 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 12,365 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 30.2% during the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 102,778 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,381,000 after buying an additional 23,833 shares during the period. Allstate Corp increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 1,614.1% during the third quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 21,598 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,334,000 after buying an additional 20,338 shares during the period. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 471.3% during the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 22,496 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,556,000 after buying an additional 18,558 shares during the period. Tema Etfs LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter valued at $2,250,000. Finally, Rakuten Investment Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter valued at $64,063,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $193.85 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $113.27 billion, a PE ratio of 9.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.61 and a beta of 0.31. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $202.73 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.43. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $191.75 and a 12-month high of $289.96.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $4.37 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.39 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.03%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $150,201.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,857,776. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 6,933 shares of company stock valued at $1,441,564. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on PGR. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $225.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Argus raised Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $298.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.39.

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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