Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super Invests $6 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Aware Super Pty Ltd as trustee of Aware Super acquired a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the 1st quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor acquired 30,245 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,996,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allstate Corp lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 106.1% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,136,000 after buying an additional 22,915 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,836,094,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,807,068 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $411,506,000 after acquiring an additional 97,275 shares during the last quarter. Investment House LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $8,447,000. Finally, Van Cleef Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 761,587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $173,429,000 after purchasing an additional 9,017 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive News Summary

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

Progressive Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $207.73 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $254.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $208.77 and its 200 day moving average is $206.50. The firm has a market cap of $121.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.42, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $4.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.39 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued 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 presently 2.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total value of $236,907.32. Following the transaction, the insider 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,877,376.18. This trade represents a 23.69% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America cut their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 price objective on Progressive in a report on Friday, July 10th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $235.05.

Progressive 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.