Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. Acquires Shares of 65,371 The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. has acquired 65,371 shares of The Progressive Corporation, representing a value of approximately $17.45 million, making Progressive the firm's third largest holding at 7.6% of its portfolio.
• The Progressive Corporation reported $4.88 earnings per share for the recent quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations, although revenue fell slightly short compared to estimates.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 to be paid on October 10th, with a current dividend yield of 0.2% and a payout ratio of 2.25%.

Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A. bought a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 65,371 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,445,000. Progressive makes up about 7.6% of Verde Servicos Internacionais S.A.'s holdings, making the stock its 3rd largest holding.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.0% in the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after buying an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.4% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.1% in the first quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC raised its position in Progressive by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GenTrust LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 3.5% during the 1st quarter. GenTrust LLC now owns 1,234 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $241.90 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $141.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.63, a PEG ratio of 1.35 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $245.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $259.98. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $228.54 and a 52-week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued 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, October 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.25%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total transaction of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,679,806.24. This trade represents a 29.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Sunday, September 21st. Barclays set a $271.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "buy (b)" rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $265.00 to $266.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $279.63.

About Progressive

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.

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