The Progressive Corporation $PGR Position Cut by KBC Group NV

Key Points

• KBC Group NV cut its stake in Progressive by 55.9% in the first quarter, selling 232,345 shares and leaving it with 183,078 shares worth about $36.3 million.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed, with Progressive carrying an overall “Hold” consensus rating and an average price target of $235.05. Recent moves included Wells Fargo lowering its target to $198 and assigning an underweight rating.
• Progressive reported a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, equivalent to $0.40 annually, though the yield is modest at about 0.2%.

KBC Group NV lowered its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 55.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 183,078 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 232,345 shares during the period. KBC Group NV's holdings in Progressive were worth $36,293,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allstate Corp boosted its stake in Progressive by 106.1% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 22,915 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $8,447,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,807,068 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $411,506,000 after buying an additional 97,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Cleef Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 761,587 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $173,429,000 after acquiring an additional 9,017 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. William Blair reaffirmed a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, HSBC lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $235.05.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares of the company's stock, 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total transaction of $236,907.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,511 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 2.0%

PGR stock opened at $212.09 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $123.93 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.86 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $209.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.22. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $189.20 and a 52 week high of $254.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.01%.

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.

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