Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Acquires 235,269 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 75.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 547,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 235,269 shares during the period. Progressive makes up 1.0% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI owned 0.09% of Progressive worth $113,724,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $3,628,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $3,090,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 66.4% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,409,000 after acquiring an additional 2,719 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 90.4% in the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 21,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,354,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the period. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $1,890,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $256.60 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $235.90 and its 200-day moving average is $218.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $137.59 and a 52 week high of $260.46. The company has a market capitalization of $150.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a P/E/G ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,383.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total transaction of $466,421.32. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,383.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 154,332 shares of company stock valued at $35,466,904 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have issued reports on PGR. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.18.

Progressive Company 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.