Capital Research Global Investors Lowers Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Capital Research Global Investors trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 0.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,144,028 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 23,912 shares during the quarter. Capital Research Global Investors owned 1.90% of Progressive worth $2,537,738,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dagco Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 106.6% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank grew its position in shares of Progressive by 60.4% during the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 target price on Progressive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Weiss Ratings cut Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Argus upgraded Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Evercore restated a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.11.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 4.6%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $204.27 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39, a P/E/G ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.28. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $283.95. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $198.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $208.87. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.37 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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 currently 2.03%.

Progressive 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.