ING Groep NV Raises Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

ING Groep NV boosted its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2,743.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 27,066 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 26,114 shares during the period. ING Groep NV’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,163,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Capital International Inc. CA boosted its holdings in Progressive by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 191,837 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $43,685,000 after purchasing an additional 10,314 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in Progressive by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,398,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,527 shares during the last quarter. Weik Capital Management boosted its holdings in Progressive by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Weik Capital Management now owns 88,902 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $20,245,000 after purchasing an additional 2,517 shares during the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 17.9% during the 4th quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 2,435 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $554,000 after buying an additional 370 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinebridge Investments LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,769,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $1,183,200.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares in the company, valued at $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the firm’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 value of $231,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 28,668 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,733,600. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 7,343 shares of company stock worth $1,470,355 in the last three months. 0.32% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 target price on Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their target price on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 20th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.11.

Progressive Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $200.33 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $198.84 and its 200-day simple moving average is $208.58. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.18, a PEG ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.28. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $278.71.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $4.37 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

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.