Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Has $283.35 Million Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. reduced its Progressive stake by 20.9% in the first quarter, selling 377,735 shares and leaving it with 1,429,333 shares worth about $283.35 million.
• Insiders have also been selling shares: John Jo Murphy and director Jeffrey D. Kelly recently sold stock, and insiders have sold 15,230 shares worth about $3.17 million over the last 90 days.
• Progressive’s recent earnings topped EPS estimates, but analysts are mixed, with a consensus Hold rating and an average price target of $236.47; the stock opened at $232.62 and the company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. cut its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,429,333 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 377,735 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned 0.24% of Progressive worth $283,351,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Bogart Wealth LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 235.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on 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 completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. HSBC upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Progressive from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Monday, June 29th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Evercore reissued a "negative" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $236.47.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $232.62 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $135.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.83, a PEG ratio of 4.44 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $205.78 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.70. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $254.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 company 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.26 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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