US Bancorp DE Trims Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• US Bancorp DE reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 1.9%, holding 211,129 shares valued at approximately $59.76 million.
• Progressive reported a quarterly EPS of $4.88, exceeding estimates, alongside revenues of $20.08 billion, reflecting a 12.1% increase from last year.
• Analysts have mixed views, with nine giving it a buy rating and nine a hold rating, while the average price target sits at $286.88.

US Bancorp DE lessened its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 1.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 211,129 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,981 shares during the quarter. US Bancorp DE's holdings in Progressive were worth $59,757,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.0% during the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 38 shares in the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.1% during the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.2%

Progressive stock traded up $0.37 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $241.46. The company had a trading volume of 2,284,632 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,915,410. The company has a market capitalization of $141.55 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $208.13 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $260.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.33.

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, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The firm 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a yield of 15.0%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.25%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Evercore ISI cut Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.88.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total value of $1,509,141.12. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at $6,742,703.04. This represents a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $122,741,523.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348 in the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company 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.