Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Purchases 193,800 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI significantly increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 87.9% during the 1st quarter, holding approximately 414,183 shares valued at $117.2 million.
• Analysts have recently adjusted their price targets for Progressive, with the consensus rating at "Moderate Buy" and a current average price target of $284.18.
• Progressive announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, set to be paid on October 10th, representing a dividend yield of 0.2%.

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 87.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 414,183 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 193,800 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for about 0.9% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI's portfolio, making the stock its 29th biggest holding. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned about 0.07% of Progressive worth $117,218,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently commented on PGR. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Citigroup reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, August 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $284.82.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR traded down $0.51 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $248.29. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,612,107 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,367,657. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $228.54 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $145.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $246.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.58. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. 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 analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.25%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock valued at $34,547,699 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

About Progressive

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.