Swiss National Bank Acquires 114,100 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Swiss National Bank boosted its stake in Progressive by 7.1% in the first quarter, buying an additional 114,100 shares and bringing its holdings to 1,720,400 shares worth about $341.1 million.
• Progressive’s recent updates were mixed but mostly positive: quarterly profit rose on stronger auto insurance demand, while the company also reported Q2 policy growth that helped support investor sentiment.
• Analysts remain divided after earnings, with several firms cutting price targets, though Bank of America lifted its target to $308 and the broader consensus rating stays at Hold with a $235.05 average price target.

Swiss National Bank increased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 7.1% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,720,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 114,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.29% of Progressive worth $341,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,584,067,000 after buying an additional 593,612 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Progressive by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,373,474,000 after buying an additional 78,374 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in Progressive by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,398,123,000 after buying an additional 1,217,527 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,432,549 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,375,706,000 after buying an additional 1,092,151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $1,836,094,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Key Progressive News

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that Progressive’s quarterly profit rose on higher auto insurance demand, reinforcing the view that core underwriting and pricing trends remain healthy. Progressive's quarterly profit rises on higher auto insurance demand
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary remains constructive after Q2, noting that Progressive continues to grow policies and remains a leading property and casualty insurer, which may help investor confidence. Progressive Is The P&C Insurer To Hold, After Policies Grow In Q2
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $308 and kept a buy rating, signaling optimism even though the target was trimmed slightly from prior levels. Progressive Given New $308.00 Price Target at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysts also reduced their forecasts after the mixed Q2 report, but several still view the shares as fairly valued to modestly attractive from current levels. Progressive Analysts Slash Their Forecasts After Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its price target to $205 and kept a market perform rating, reflecting a more cautious stance following the earnings release. BMO Capital Markets price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also lowered its target to $226 and maintained a market perform rating, adding to the post-earnings analyst headwinds. KBW price target cut

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the sale, the director owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,258,000. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on PGR shares. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Evercore set a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $235.05.

Progressive Trading Up 0.9%

Progressive stock opened at $207.73 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $208.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.50. The company has a market cap of $121.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $254.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.Progressive's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $4.37 EPS. Analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.38 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.01%.

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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