Eminence Capital LP Has $27.66 Million Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Eminence Capital LP lifted its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 6.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 115,432 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,635 shares during the period. Eminence Capital LP’s holdings in Progressive were worth $27,659,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $1,843,045,000. GQG Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 67.6% in the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,239,143,000 after purchasing an additional 2,085,833 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $408,416,000. Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in Progressive by 34.3% during the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,451,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,677 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in Progressive by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,480,677,000 after buying an additional 710,684 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,891.35. This trade represents a 35.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total value of $110,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,084.80. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $283.98 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.48 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $275.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $259.61.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.70%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.41.

About Progressive

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.