Marathon Asset Management Ltd Increases Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Marathon Asset Management Ltd lifted its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 5.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 154,309 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,418 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for about 1.4% of Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Marathon Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Progressive were worth $35,140,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 106.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in Progressive by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Finally, Riverview Trust Co increased its stake in Progressive by 48.6% in the 4th quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $203.02 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $118.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 5.90 and a beta of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $191.75 and a fifty-two week high of $289.96. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $200.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $210.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.37 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.4 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total value of $460,111.30. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,062.50. This trade represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,227. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 6,933 shares of company stock valued at $1,441,564 in the last 90 days. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on PGR shares. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $259.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Argus raised Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.39.

Progressive Company 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.