DnB Asset Management AS Boosts Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

DnB Asset Management AS raised its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 42.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 146,592 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,937 shares during the period. DnB Asset Management AS’s holdings in Progressive were worth $35,125,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR opened at $274.73 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $161.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $264.61 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.62. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 66,255 shares of company stock worth $16,877,471. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on PGR. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.06.

Progressive Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, business related general liability, and other specialty property-casualty insurance products and related services in the United States. It operates in three segments: Personal Lines, Commercial Lines, and Property.