MetLife Investment Management LLC Has $49.13 Million Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• MetLife Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 1.8% during Q1, possessing 173,593 shares valued at approximately $49 million.
• Progressive reported $4.88 EPS for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.43, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.1%.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, with the payment set for October 10th, reflecting a 0.2% annual yield.

MetLife Investment Management LLC lessened its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 1.8% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 173,593 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,168 shares during the quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $49,129,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,645,000 after purchasing an additional 339 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 18.9% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 27,105 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,495,000 after purchasing an additional 4,314 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 164.2% in the fourth quarter. Two Sigma Securities LLC now owns 2,055 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $492,000 after purchasing an additional 5,255 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Evercore ISI downgraded shares of Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.18.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded up $1.59 on Thursday, hitting $246.28. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,316,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,232,993. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock's 50 day moving average is $250.25 and its 200-day moving average is $266.20. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $228.54 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $144.37 billion, a PE ratio of 13.87, a PEG ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Progressive's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $2,223,719.28. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,061,917.04. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 108,351 shares of company stock worth $27,003,746 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.