Swedbank AB Increases Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Swedbank AB increased its stake in Progressive by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, adding 63,306 shares to bring its total holding to 752,440 shares valued at about $171.3 million.
• Progressive reported stronger-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.80 per share, topping analyst estimates, though revenue of $22.19 billion came in below expectations.
• Insider selling and cautious analyst sentiment were also highlighted, with several executives selling shares and the stock carrying a consensus “Hold” rating and average price target of $238.11.

Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 9.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 752,440 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 63,306 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.13% of Progressive worth $171,346,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 106.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,857,776. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 6,933 shares of company stock valued at $1,441,564 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Mizuho dropped their target price 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. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays set a $247.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Six equities research 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.11.

Progressive Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $199.28 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $200.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $210.22. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $191.75 and a 52-week high of $289.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.45 billion, a PE ratio of 10.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 7.30 and a beta of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $4.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed 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 yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

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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