The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Bought by Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co boosted its stake in Progressive by 7.3% in the fourth quarter, buying 12,500 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 184,895 shares worth about $42.1 million.
• Progressive reported quarterly earnings of $4.80 per share, beating analyst estimates, though revenue of $22.19 billion came in below expectations. Revenue still rose 6.5% year over year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share payable July 10, while analysts currently rate the stock a consensus Hold with an average price target of $238.11.

Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 7.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 184,895 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 12,500 shares during the period. Ilmarinen Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Progressive were worth $42,104,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,584,067,000 after purchasing an additional 593,612 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,373,474,000 after acquiring an additional 78,374 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Progressive by 78.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,384,082,000 after acquiring an additional 6,045,732 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors grew its holdings in Progressive by 26.1% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,757,905,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in Progressive by 4.9% during the third quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,196,111 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,036,230,000 after acquiring an additional 197,603 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of PGR opened at $194.73 on Friday. The business's 50-day moving average price is $199.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $209.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $113.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.90, a P/E/G ratio of 7.20 and a beta of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $191.75 and a 1-year high of $289.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.Progressive's revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $4.37 EPS. Analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $745,604.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,857,776. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,928 shares of company stock worth $831,251. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Mizuho lowered their target price on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Progressive from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Barclays set a $247.00 target price on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.11.

About Progressive

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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