Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Buys New Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co. acquired 114,944 Progressive shares during the second quarter, valued at approximately $25.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 85.34% of the insurer.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $5.67, beating analysts’ $4.64 consensus, while revenue reached $23.61 billion versus expectations of $19.49 billion; revenue increased 5% year over year.
• Shares opened at $219.45, while analysts maintain an average “Hold” rating and a $236.05 price target. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, representing a 0.2% yield.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co bought a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 114,944 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $25,110,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 235.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the second quarter worth $27,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $219.45 on Friday. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $215.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.64. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $252.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The business's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.70, for a total value of $1,727,974.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 41,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,782,595.70. This trade represents a 16.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total value of $1,535,979.31. Following the sale, the insider owned 42,567 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,224 shares of company stock valued at $17,416,438. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 30th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "hold" rating and issued a $228.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. Mizuho set a $236.00 target price on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Seven 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, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $236.05.

About Progressive

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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