Swiss National Bank Raises Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Swiss National Bank lifted its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 7.1% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,720,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 114,100 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Progressive were worth $341,052,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its position in Progressive by 235.1% in the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 700.0% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 0.9%

PGR opened at $207.73 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $208.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $206.50. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $254.93. The stock has a market cap of $121.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.37 EPS. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.38 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.01%.

Progressive News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that Progressive’s quarterly profit rose on higher auto insurance demand, reinforcing the view that core underwriting and pricing trends remain healthy. Progressive’s quarterly profit rises on higher auto insurance demand
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary remains constructive after Q2, noting that Progressive continues to grow policies and remains a leading property and casualty insurer, which may help investor confidence. Progressive Is The P&C Insurer To Hold, After Policies Grow In Q2
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $308 and kept a buy rating, signaling optimism even though the target was trimmed slightly from prior levels. Progressive Given New $308.00 Price Target at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysts also reduced their forecasts after the mixed Q2 report, but several still view the shares as fairly valued to modestly attractive from current levels. Progressive Analysts Slash Their Forecasts After Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its price target to $205 and kept a market perform rating, reflecting a more cautious stance following the earnings release. BMO Capital Markets price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also lowered its target to $226 and maintained a market perform rating, adding to the post-earnings analyst headwinds. KBW price target cut

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PGR. Evercore set a $240.00 target price on Progressive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $235.05.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,258,000. This represents a 12.53% 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. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.