First Trust Advisors LP Sells 42,550 Shares of PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

First Trust Advisors LP cut its stake in shares of PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Free Report) by 37.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 71,256 shares of the company's stock after selling 42,550 shares during the quarter. First Trust Advisors LP owned about 0.17% of PROG worth $3,011,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of PROG by 36.8% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 779,716 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,951,000 after buying an additional 209,805 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in shares of PROG by 2,008.0% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 178,550 shares of the company's stock valued at $7,546,000 after purchasing an additional 170,080 shares in the last quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC increased its position in PROG by 170.7% in the fourth quarter. Great Lakes Advisors LLC now owns 248,964 shares of the company's stock worth $10,521,000 after purchasing an additional 157,006 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of PROG in the 4th quarter valued at about $6,093,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in PROG by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,564,441 shares of the company's stock worth $108,373,000 after acquiring an additional 134,123 shares during the last quarter. 97.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other PROG news, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu bought 1,650 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 26th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $28.01 per share, for a total transaction of $46,216.50. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 18,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $512,330.91. The trade was a 9.92 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas C. Curling acquired 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, February 21st. The shares were purchased at an average price of $29.88 per share, for a total transaction of $298,800.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 45,913 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,371,880.44. This represents a 27.85 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 3.21% of the company's stock.

PROG Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PRG traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $27.85. 71,404 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 538,339. The company has a current ratio of 5.24, a quick ratio of 2.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.13 and a beta of 1.81. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $26.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $37.24. PROG Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $23.50 and a 1 year high of $50.28.

PROG (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The company reported $0.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.82 by $0.08. PROG had a net margin of 8.01% and a return on equity of 24.25%. The company had revenue of $684.09 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $678.23 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.91 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

PROG Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, June 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, May 20th will be paid a $0.13 dividend. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.87%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 20th. PROG's payout ratio is 10.66%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on PRG shares. Loop Capital decreased their price objective on shares of PROG from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. KeyCorp reduced their target price on shares of PROG from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered PROG from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price target for the company from $58.00 to $29.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.83.

PROG Company Profile

PROG Holdings, Inc NYSE: PRG is a financial technology holding company based in Salt Lake City, Utah with three business segments: Progressive Leasing, which offers lease-to-own transactions primarily to credit-challenged consumers through e-commerce and point-of-sale retail partners, via online, mobile, and in-store solutions; Vive Financial, which provides consumers who may not qualify for traditional prime lending with a variety of second-look, revolving credit products through private label and branded credit cards; and Four Technologies, which provides consumers of all credit backgrounds Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options through four interest-free installments via its platform, Four.