M&G Plc Takes $17.95 Million Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

M&G Plc acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 86,721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $17,951,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, RiverPark Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth $38,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR traded down $5.18 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $219.35. 3,207,517 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,601,524. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.47 billion, a PE ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $118.75 and a 12 month high of $229.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $209.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $199.45.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.01 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total transaction of $135,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,981 shares in the company, valued at $828,485.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 7,361 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $207.25, for a total value of $1,525,567.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 35,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,357,996.75. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total transaction of $135,271.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $828,485.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 35,647 shares of company stock worth $7,417,765 over the last three months. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Progressive from $276.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $245.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.94.

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.