The Progressive Corporation (PGR) Surged on Growth in Premiums and Underwriting Profits

Artisan Partners, an investment management company, released its “Artisan Select Equity Fund” first quarter 2024 investor letter. A copy of the letter can be downloaded here. Its Investor Class: ARTNX returned 10.86%, Advisor Class:  APDNX returned 10.85%, and Institutional Class: APHNX returned 10.91% compared to a 10.56% return for the S&P 500 Index. The US market recorded gains in a quarter that nearly equated to a full year. Almost all the markets around the world did well in the quarter. In addition, you can check the top 5 holdings of the fund to know its best picks in 2024.

Artisan Select Equity Fund highlighted stocks like The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR), in the first quarter 2024 investor letter. The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) is an insurance holding company. The one-month return of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) was -1.50%, and its shares gained 62.36% of their value over the last 52 weeks. On June 7, 2024, The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) stock closed at $212.53 per share with a market capitalization of $124.476 billion.

Artisan Select Equity Fund stated the following regarding The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in its first quarter 2024 investor letter:

"The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) shares rose 30% during the quarter. After a difficult start to 2023, the company quickly adapted and finished the year with impressive growth in premiums and underwriting profits. In Q4 2023, it managed to grow its customer base even as it raised rates and improved its underwriting ratios—a trifecta that isn’t often seen in the insurance industry. This performance has continued, which should set the stage for another year of good results in 2024. Perhaps most importantly, it has been able to navigate the environment far better than its peers, many of whom are still reporting sub-par underwriting performance. Progressive has consistently gained market share in the personal auto market over our ownership period and now commands close to 15% of the total market. Its shares are no longer a bargain, but we continue to hold them due to the high quality of this business and the advantaged nature of its low-cost insurance franchise."

A team of accountants in a boardroom, discussing strategic moves of an insurance company.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) is not on our list of 31 Most Popular Stocks Among Hedge Funds. As per our database, 85 hedge fund portfolios held The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) at the end of the first quarter which was 79 in the previous quarter. While we acknowledge the potential of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) as an investment, our conviction lies in the belief that AI stocks hold greater promise for delivering higher returns, and doing so within a shorter timeframe. If you are looking for an AI stock that is as promising as NVIDIA but that trades at less than 5 times its earnings, check out our report about the cheapest AI stock.

In another article, we discussed The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) and shared the list of most profitable insurance companies in the world. Another investment management company Baron Funds also has The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in its portfolio and benefitted from its recent outperformance. In addition, please check out our hedge fund investor letters Q1 2024 page for more investor letters from hedge funds and other leading investors.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.