Xponance LLC Grows Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Xponance LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, adding 5,202 shares and bringing its total holding to 124,790 shares worth about $28.4 million.
• Progressive reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $4.80 per share, topping analyst estimates, though revenue of $22.19 billion came in below expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, while insiders recently sold shares and analysts currently rate the stock a consensus "Hold" with a target price of $238.11.

Xponance LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 124,790 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 5,202 shares during the quarter. Xponance LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $28,417,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its stake in Progressive by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 44,960 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $10,238,000 after buying an additional 763 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 455,850 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $103,806,000 after buying an additional 8,775 shares during the period. TCTC Holdings LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. TCTC Holdings LLC now owns 10,914 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,485,000 after buying an additional 2,498 shares during the period. SmartHarvest Portfolios LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $561,000. Finally, Vaughan David Investments LLC IL grew its stake in Progressive by 4,331.2% during the fourth quarter. Vaughan David Investments LLC IL now owns 113,926 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,943,000 after buying an additional 111,355 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Down 0.9%

NYSE PGR opened at $202.41 on Friday. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $199.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.09. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $189.20 and a 52 week high of $269.84. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $118.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.29, a PEG ratio of 5.92 and a beta of 0.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 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 business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $4.37 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd 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 is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at $8,258,000. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $231,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at $5,733,600. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355 in the last ninety days. 0.32% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings cut shares of Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $238.11.

Progressive Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.