The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Purchased by DNB Asset Management AS

DNB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 118,726 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,127 shares during the quarter. DNB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Progressive were worth $27,036,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 106.6% during the third 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 last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank lifted its stake in Progressive by 60.4% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Riverview Trust Co lifted its stake in Progressive by 48.6% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Finally, Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 833.3% during the fourth quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 168 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $199.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business’s 50 day moving average is $201.02 and its two-hundred day moving average is $210.50. The company has a market cap of $116.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.77 and a beta of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $191.75 and a 12 month high of $289.96.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $4.37 EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.4 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.03%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have weighed in on PGR. Zacks Research raised Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. UBS Group raised their target price on Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 23rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on Progressive from $295.00 to $298.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.39.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total value of $460,111.30. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,062.50. This represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 6,933 shares of company stock worth $1,441,564 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

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.