The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Sold by Geode Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Geode Capital Management trimmed its Progressive stake slightly in the fourth quarter, selling 47,224 shares and ending with 15.6 million shares valued at about $3.55 billion.
• Analyst sentiment on Progressive is mixed: the stock has an average “Hold” rating with a consensus price target of $238.11, while recent reports included both upgrades and negative ratings.
• Progressive reported Q1 EPS of $4.80, beating estimates, and announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share payable July 10, though the stock recently traded near $197, below its 200-day average.

Geode Capital Management LLC decreased its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 0.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 15,612,584 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 47,224 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC owned approximately 2.66% of Progressive worth $3,547,959,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC raised its position in Progressive by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC raised its position in Progressive by 7.8% during the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 12.0% during the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Piper Sandler restated an "overweight" rating and set a $259.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, March 2nd. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Evercore restated a "negative" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $197.00 on Thursday. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $191.75 and a 1 year high of $289.96. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $200.07 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.03. The company has a market cap of $115.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.02, a PEG ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 0.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $4.37 earnings per share. Progressive's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.36 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. 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, July 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

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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