Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co Purchases 11,600 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co raised its stake in The Progressive Corporation by 11.8% in Q4, buying 11,600 shares to own 110,044 shares worth about $25.06 million.
• Progressive beat EPS estimates with $4.80 vs. $4.67 but missed revenue expectations ($22.19B vs. $23.51B), while reporting a strong 33.47% return on equity and a 12.92% net margin.
• Analyst consensus is a "Hold" with a $238.39 target amid mixed revisions (e.g., Morgan Stanley cut to underweight/$190 while Bank of America raised to buy/$298), and the stock trades near $199.60 with a P/E of about 10.15.

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co grew its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 11.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 110,044 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 11,600 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Progressive were worth $25,059,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at $25,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 53 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Argus raised Progressive to a "hold" rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Mizuho decreased their target price on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Bank of America raised their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Progressive from $208.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.39.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 6,933 shares of company stock worth $1,441,564. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $199.60 on Monday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $192.02 and a one year high of $289.96. 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 stock has a market cap of $116.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.15, a P/E/G ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 0.31. The stock's fifty day moving average is $203.18 and its 200 day moving average is $212.01.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.37 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.03%.

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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