Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its Q4 stake in The Progressive Corporation by 1.1%, acquiring an additional 593,612 shares to hold 55,261,140 shares — roughly a 9.42% stake valued at $12.584 billion.
• Progressive reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating estimates by $0.13 while revenue missed at $22.19 billion, and analysts maintain a consensus Hold rating with an average price target of $238.39.
• Insiders sold 6,933 shares worth $1.44 million in the last quarter (insiders now own 0.32%), while institutional investors hold about 85.34% of the company.

Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 593,612 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 9.42% of Progressive worth $12,584,067,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 106.6% during the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank grew its holdings in Progressive by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co grew its holdings in Progressive by 48.6% during the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 162 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. HSBC lowered shares of Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Evercore reissued a "negative" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Zacks Research raised shares of Progressive from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c+)" rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, March 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.39.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,227. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 6,933 shares of company stock valued at $1,441,564. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Progressive Trading Down 2.3%

Progressive stock opened at $200.62 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average is $203.38 and its 200-day moving average is $213.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $192.02 and a 1 year high of $289.96. The company has a market cap of $117.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.20, a PEG ratio of 6.77 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $4.37 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.39 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.03%.

Progressive 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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