BDF Gestion Invests $3.42 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 15,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,416,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank bought a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,156,939,000. Capital International Investors boosted its position in Progressive by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,384,082,000 after buying an additional 6,045,732 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 32.8% in the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,928,141,000 after buying an additional 2,709,417 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 2,012.0% during the third quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 767,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $189,546,000 after acquiring an additional 731,207 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,687 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,044. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Progressive successfully priced $1.5 billion of senior notes — $500M of 4.60% due 2031 and $1B of 5.15% due 2036 — at roughly par, demonstrating continued market access and financing at reasonable rates for a large insurer. This improves liquidity and funds general corporate purposes without equity dilution. GlobeNewsWire Release
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysis highlights the issuance reframes Progressive’s capital structure and investor tradeoffs — reasonable borrowing costs but a shift away from potential share-repurchase capacity; investors will weigh yield vs. longer-term leverage. Yahoo: Capital Structure Analysis
• Neutral Sentiment: The notes were arranged by reputable underwriters (Goldman Sachs & TD Securities) and sold under an effective S-3 registration — procedural positives but not an immediate earnings driver. Pricing slightly below par signals fair demand dynamics in current fixed‑income markets. Quiver/Press Summary
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst moves are mixed: UBS nudged its price target to $220 but kept a “neutral” rating, while Mizuho cut its target to $223 — these modest downward revisions and cautious guidance could cap upside near term. Benzinga: UBS PT Change Mizuho PT Cut
• Negative Sentiment: Corporate insider selling: CAO Carl G. Joyce reported a small sale (270 shares). While immaterial to the company’s cap structure, continued insider sales can be noticed by investors as a sentiment signal. SEC Form 4

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. HSBC cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays set a $247.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $239.83.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $204.97 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $197.92 and a 1 year high of $289.96. The stock has a market cap of $120.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.49 and a beta of 0.33. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $205.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $220.49.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.08%.

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.