Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Acquires 13,260 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 12.0% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 123,790 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 13,260 shares during the quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd’s holdings in Progressive were worth $24,930,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 235.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 700.0% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group increased their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. HSBC boosted their price target on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $235.05.

Progressive Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of PGR opened at $207.73 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $208.77 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $206.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $254.93. 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.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted 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. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $4.37 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

More Progressive News

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were 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 approximately $8,258,000. This represents a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 22,546 shares in the company, valued at $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817 in the last 90 days. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.