Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab Acquires Shares of 33,402 The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Danica Pension Livsforsikringsaktieselskab bought a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 33,402 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $7,297,000.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Allstate Corp raised its position in Progressive by 106.1% during the fourth quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,136,000 after purchasing an additional 22,915 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $8,447,000. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Progressive by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 761,587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $173,429,000 after purchasing an additional 9,017 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $353,906,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $7,942,165.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 522,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,199,682.96. This represents a 6.67% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,797,824.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. This represents a 20.72% 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 82,224 shares of company stock valued at $17,416,438. Company insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 1.5%

NYSE:PGR opened at $206.98 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $214.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $206.39. The stock has a market cap of $120.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.38, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $254.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. The company had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.57 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on PGR. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Mizuho set a $236.00 price objective on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 5th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $233.16.

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.