The Progressive Corporation $PGR is Parkwood LLC's 6th Largest Position

Key Points

• Parkwood LLC increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 86.4%, holding approximately $25.67 million worth of stock, making Progressive its sixth largest holding.
• The company reported a 12.1% increase in revenue with earnings of $4.88 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Progressive announced a $0.10 quarterly dividend to be paid on October 10th, reflecting a 0.2% yield and a 2.25% payout ratio.

Parkwood LLC lifted its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 86.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 90,703 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 42,047 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up 2.3% of Parkwood LLC's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding. Parkwood LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $25,669,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,289,037,000 after buying an additional 622,590 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 61.4% during the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after buying an additional 3,174,632 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Progressive by 15.2% during the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,338,556,000 after buying an additional 1,091,828 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,983,567 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,433,722,000 after buying an additional 915,643 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,473,180,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on PGR. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, August 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. UBS Group lowered their target price on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, August 19th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $284.18.

Progressive Trading Down 1.1%

NYSE:PGR traded down $2.67 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $243.27. 2,627,728 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,620,588. The firm's fifty day moving average is $247.14 and its 200-day moving average is $265.25. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $228.54 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.32. 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 results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued 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, October 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.96, for a total transaction of $1,557,750.72. Following the sale, the insider owned 21,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,402,135.52. This represents a 22.38% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the sale, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 139,010 shares of company stock worth $34,547,699 in the last ninety 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.