The Progressive Corporation $PGR is Erste Asset Management GmbH's 5th Largest Position

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH has decreased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 2.1%, making it the 5th largest position in its investment portfolio.
• Progressive's CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares recently, resulting in a 5.70% decrease in her ownership of the stock.
• The company reported an EPS of $4.88 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' estimates by $0.45, although revenue grew only 12.1% year-over-year.

Erste Asset Management GmbH decreased its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 2.1% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 647,639 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 13,834 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for 2.3% of Erste Asset Management GmbH's investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned approximately 0.11% of Progressive worth $182,364,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 114.0% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 210.0% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Evercore ISI lowered Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.53.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,741,523.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $795,324.84. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 37,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,465,387.48. This trade represents a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 112,313 shares of company stock worth $28,349,549. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $250.6930 on Wednesday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $228.54 and a one year high of $292.99. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $252.37 and a 200-day moving average of $266.40. The company has a market capitalization of $146.96 billion, a PE ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

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.

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