Marshall Wace LLP Acquires 170,080 Shares of PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Free Report) by 2,008.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,550 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 170,080 shares during the quarter. Marshall Wace LLP owned 0.43% of PROG worth $7,546,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Summit Securities Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PROG in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Sterling Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of PROG by 765.6% in the fourth quarter. Sterling Capital Management LLC now owns 1,082 shares of the company's stock valued at $46,000 after purchasing an additional 957 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of PROG by 141.1% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,208 shares of the company's stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 707 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of PROG by 248.6% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,370 shares of the company's stock valued at $57,000 after purchasing an additional 977 shares during the last quarter. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PROG in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,000. 97.92% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PROG Stock Performance

Shares of PROG stock traded up $0.22 on Monday, hitting $25.93. The stock had a trading volume of 549,727 shares, compared to its average volume of 453,619. PROG Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $23.50 and a twelve month high of $50.28. The business's 50 day moving average is $26.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $38.29. The company has a quick ratio of 2.34, a current ratio of 5.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $1.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.71 and a beta of 1.96.

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

PROG Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 25th. Investors of record on Thursday, March 13th were given a dividend of $0.13 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $0.52 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. This is an increase from PROG's previous quarterly dividend of $0.12. PROG's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Caroline Sio-Chin Sheu purchased 1,650 shares of PROG stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 26th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $28.01 per share, with a total value of $46,216.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $512,330.91. This represents a 9.92 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Douglas C. Curling purchased 10,000 shares of PROG stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 21st. The shares were bought at an average cost of $29.88 per share, for a total transaction of $298,800.00. Following the transaction, 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. 3.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PRG has been the topic of several research reports. KeyCorp lowered their price target on shares of PROG from $50.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Loop Capital reduced their price objective on shares of PROG from $45.00 to $40.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded shares of PROG from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $58.00 to $29.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 26th. Finally, Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of PROG in a research note on Thursday, January 2nd. Two investment 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.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $44.83.

About PROG

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.