Temasek Holdings Private Ltd Increases Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Temasek Holdings increased its stake in Progressive by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, adding 32,908 shares to bring its total to 993,588 shares valued at about $226.3 million.
• Progressive reported better-than-expected earnings of $4.80 per share for the quarter, though revenue of $22.19 billion came in below estimates. Analysts now expect the company to generate 16.35 EPS for the full year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, payable July 10, while analysts currently have an overall Hold rating on the stock with an average price target of $238.11.

Temasek Holdings Private Ltd grew its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 993,588 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 32,908 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for approximately 0.7% of Temasek Holdings Private Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Temasek Holdings Private Ltd owned approximately 0.17% of Progressive worth $226,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 106.6% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Up 0.1%

NYSE:PGR opened at $203.40 on Tuesday. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $269.78. The company has a market cap of $118.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.28. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.37 and a 200-day simple moving average of $207.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Progressive from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.11.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at $8,258,000. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355 over the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.