Swiss National Bank Reduces Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Swiss National Bank decreased its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,830,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 52,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned 0.31% of Progressive worth $291,546,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Compass Ion Advisors LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 7,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 10.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 19.3% during the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $68,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. BSW Wealth Partners grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.2% during the fourth quarter. BSW Wealth Partners now owns 1,727 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $275,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 3,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after buying an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $0.31 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $208.72. 2,149,844 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,608,130. The business has a 50-day moving average of $203.96 and a 200-day moving average of $179.25. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $111.41 and a 1 year high of $216.21. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.36, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. HSBC upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler restated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, April 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.88.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.