Capital International Investors Acquires 1,217,527 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Capital International Investors increased its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 8.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 1,217,527 shares during the quarter. Capital International Investors’ holdings in Progressive were worth $3,398,123,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,584,067,000 after purchasing an additional 593,612 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,373,474,000 after acquiring an additional 78,374 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 26.1% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $1,836,094,000. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 4,227,046 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $962,583,000 after acquiring an additional 697,439 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $204.27 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $283.95. The firm has a market cap of $119.37 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The business has a fifty day moving average of $198.89 and a 200-day moving average of $208.87.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.37 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Argus raised Progressive to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $259.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Zacks Research raised Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.11.

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.