KBC Group NV Increases Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

KBC Group NV lifted its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 39.2% during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 674,096 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 189,865 shares during the period. KBC Group NV owned about 0.11% of Progressive worth $179,889,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. New York Life Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 87,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter worth about $306,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 199.0% during the second quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 9,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,511,000 after buying an additional 6,263 shares during the period. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $13,583,000. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $647,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $556,230.04. Following the sale, the insider owned 45,724 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $11,466,664.72. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $325,624.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 30,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,356,934.80. The trade was a 4.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 58,500 shares of company stock valued at $14,430,089 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 1.0%

NYSE:PGR opened at $219.73 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $199.90 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a 50-day moving average of $232.41 and a 200 day moving average of $251.30. The firm has a market cap of $128.85 billion, a PE ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.29.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b-)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $312.00 to $301.38 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $269.90.

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.