Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Has $24.93 Million Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd raised its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 12.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 123,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 13,260 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Progressive were worth $24,930,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,836,094,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in shares of Progressive by 181.8% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,481,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,197,212 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 19,724.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,068,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $806,614,000 after buying an additional 4,048,351 shares during the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $353,906,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 193.2% during the 4th quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,206,742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $502,519,000 after buying an additional 1,454,111 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Mizuho raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.05.

Progressive Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $207.73 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $189.20 and a 1 year high of $254.93. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $206.50. The company has a market cap of $121.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $4.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.38 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at $8,258,000. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total value of $236,907.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Progressive

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

About Progressive

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.