Swedbank AB Buys 54,459 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Swedbank AB has increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 6.4%, owning a total of 904,314 shares valued at approximately $241.3 million.
• Recent insider activity includes CEO Susan Patricia Griffith selling 30,659 shares for over $7.5 million, reducing her stake by 6.05%.
• The Progressive Corporation announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, to be paid on October 10th, representing a 0.2% dividend yield.

Swedbank AB grew its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 6.4% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 904,314 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 54,459 shares during the period. Swedbank AB owned about 0.15% of Progressive worth $241,325,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 210.0% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE PGR traded up $0.26 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $242.26. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,778,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,433,152. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $245.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $263.47. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $228.54 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The business had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Progressive's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total value of $1,509,141.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,742,703.04. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 130,062 shares of company stock worth $32,217,635. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $279.44.

Progressive Company Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.