Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd Increases Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd grew its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 46.2% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 118,599 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 37,498 shares during the quarter. Dai ichi Life Insurance Company Ltd’s holdings in Progressive were worth $24,634,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,078,831,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 237.8% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,485,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,883 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth $188,642,000. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4,545.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $145,858,000 after purchasing an additional 690,060 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in Progressive by 548.2% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,866,000 after purchasing an additional 686,433 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $255.46 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $134.34 and a 12-month high of $256.74. The stock has a market cap of $149.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.15, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $229.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $214.74.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total value of $135,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $828,485.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total value of $135,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $828,485.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 147,354 shares of company stock worth $33,502,680. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays initiated coverage on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 target price on the stock. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Progressive from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $252.29.

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.