GQG Partners LLC Increases Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 61.4% during the first quarter, now owning over 8.3 million shares valued at approximately $2.36 billion.
• Several other institutional investors also enhanced their holdings in Progressive, including Nuveen LLC, which invested around $1.47 billion in the same quarter.
• The Progressive Corporation recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10, with a scheduled payment date of October 10th for investors on record by October 2nd.

GQG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 61.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,174,632 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises 3.8% of GQG Partners LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest position. GQG Partners LLC owned about 1.42% of Progressive worth $2,362,039,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,426,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 36.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,893,000 after purchasing an additional 33,864 shares during the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Progressive by 498.5% in the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $3,141,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 4.5% in the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,406,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $2.00 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $251.19. The company had a trading volume of 4,574,102 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,178,978. The stock has a market cap of $147.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a PEG ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $228.54 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $253.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $266.24.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $265.00 price target on Progressive and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $283.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $552,814.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 47,942 shares in the company, valued at approximately $11,949,064.08. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock worth $26,332,348. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive 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.