Tredje AP fonden Sells 4,594 Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• Tredje AP fonden reduced its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 11.6% during the 1st quarter, now holding shares valued at $9.88 million after selling 4,594 shares.
• Progressive's latest earnings report showed an EPS of $4.88, exceeding expectations, with revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, marking a 12.1% year-over-year increase.
• Recent changes in price targets by analysts include decreases from Bank of America and Keefe, Bruyette & Woods, with the majority rating the stock as a "Moderate Buy" with an average target price of $286.88.

Tredje AP fonden trimmed its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 11.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 34,906 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,594 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden's holdings in Progressive were worth $9,879,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bayforest Capital Ltd increased its position in Progressive by 234.6% during the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 1,897 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $537,000 after buying an additional 1,330 shares during the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in Progressive by 105.3% during the first quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 25,234 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,144,000 after buying an additional 12,941 shares during the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth $6,867,000. Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its position in Progressive by 54.3% during the first quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd now owns 27,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $7,531,000 after buying an additional 9,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 16.3% during the first quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 257,613 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $72,907,000 after buying an additional 36,017 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Bank of America lowered their price target on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $286.88.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock traded down $1.06 during trading on Friday, reaching $240.98. 3,201,172 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,755,347. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $208.13 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $141.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $260.21 and a 200-day simple moving average of $266.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping 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 business had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a yield of 15.0%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total transaction of $1,509,141.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,844 shares in the company, valued at $6,742,703.04. This trade represents a 18.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total transaction of $1,041,520.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,750,829.82. This represents a 8.83% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 104,250 shares of company stock valued at $26,332,348. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Company Profile

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.