Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Has $18.58 Million Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans cut its Progressive stake by 31.3% in the fourth quarter, though it still held 86,452 shares valued at about $18.6 million.
• Progressive reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $4.80, but revenue of $22.19 billion came in below analyst estimates. The company also said revenue rose 6.5% year over year.
• The insurer declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share and saw multiple insiders sell stock recently, while Wall Street’s overall view remains “Hold” with a consensus price target of $238.39.

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 31.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 86,452 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 39,462 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans' holdings in Progressive were worth $18,583,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Klingman & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Klingman & Associates LLC now owns 2,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $667,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wealthstream Advisors Inc. now owns 1,111 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $274,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Revisor Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Revisor Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,902 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $395,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Cullen Investment Group LTD. now owns 7,463 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,606,000 after buying an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,399 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $319,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total value of $460,111.30. Following the sale, the executive owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at $5,330,062.50. This trade represents a 7.95% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,857,776. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 6,933 shares of company stock valued at $1,441,564. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Up 2.1%

PGR stock opened at $203.91 on Tuesday. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $191.75 and a fifty-two week high of $289.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a current ratio of 0.27 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $119.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.37, a PEG ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.31. The business's fifty day moving average price is $200.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $210.40.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $4.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid 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 is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Bank of America increased their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 14th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Argus raised shares of Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $215.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.39.

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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