The Progressive Corporation $PGR Position Trimmed by Brooklands Fund Management Ltd

Brooklands Fund Management Ltd trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 99.1% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 23,175 shares during the quarter. Brooklands Fund Management Ltd’s holdings in Progressive were worth $46,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,836,094,000. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in Progressive by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,384,082,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045,732 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in Progressive by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,757,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $353,906,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its stake in Progressive by 193.2% in the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,206,742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $502,519,000 after purchasing an additional 1,454,111 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 21st. Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $238.11.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $231,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at $5,733,600. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355 in the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 0.1%

PGR stock opened at $203.40 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $269.78. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.77. The firm has a market cap of $118.85 billion, a PE ratio of 10.34, a PEG ratio of 5.89 and a beta of 0.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $4.37 EPS. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.03%.

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.