MUFG Securities EMEA plc Raises Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

MUFG Securities EMEA plc lifted its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 178.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 105,699 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 67,700 shares during the period. Progressive makes up 0.0% of MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. MUFG Securities EMEA plc’s holdings in Progressive were worth $28,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Triglav Investments D.O.O. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 943.6% in the second quarter. Triglav Investments D.O.O. now owns 27,446 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,324,000 after purchasing an additional 24,816 shares in the last quarter. Accuvest Global Advisors grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 188.7% in the second quarter. Accuvest Global Advisors now owns 14,846 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,962,000 after purchasing an additional 9,703 shares in the last quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.6% in the second quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.2% in the second quarter. Frederick Financial Consultants LLC now owns 877 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $234,000 after purchasing an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Longbow Finance SA grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 10.3% in the second quarter. Longbow Finance SA now owns 35,286 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $9,416,000 after purchasing an additional 3,303 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, August 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $262.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $266.00 to $246.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 16th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $268.90.

Progressive Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $205.97 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $237.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.01. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $205.55 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The stock has a market cap of $120.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.30, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total value of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,192 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,679,806.24. This represents a 29.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total transaction of $7,543,953.54. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 476,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,194,933.16. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,500 shares of company stock worth $14,430,089. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.