Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd Buys 26,628 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd lifted its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 240,599 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 26,628 shares during the period. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in Progressive were worth $59,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $150,201.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total transaction of $460,111.30. Following the transaction, the executive owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at $5,330,062.50. This represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 12,761 shares of company stock worth $2,659,420. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $201.37 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $206.46 and a 200 day moving average of $221.58. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $197.92 and a 52 week high of $289.96. The company has a market cap of $117.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a P/E/G ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently commented on PGR. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $208.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 11th. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday. Zacks Research raised shares of Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $240.94.

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.