BNP Paribas Grows Stake in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

BNP Paribas grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 697.4% in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 14,536 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 12,713 shares during the period. BNP Paribas’ holdings in Progressive were worth $3,865,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter worth $33,000. Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Progressive by 6,350.0% in the 1st quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares during the period. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 900.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 1.5%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $222.91 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $130.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $199.90 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The business’s fifty day moving average is $224.56 and its 200 day moving average is $243.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio 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 the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $3.58 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.19%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total value of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 15,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,679,806.24. The trade was a 29.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $536,977.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,506 shares in the company, valued at $10,532,802.60. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last three months, insiders sold 17,673 shares of company stock valued at $4,163,005. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PGR. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Morgan Stanley set a $214.00 target price on Progressive and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on Progressive from $305.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $266.40.

Progressive Profile

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.