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

DnB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 42.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor 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.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alerus Financial NA purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $4,130,000. Level Four Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 6.1% in the fourth quarter. Level Four Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,624 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $629,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Premier Fund Managers Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,194,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its position in shares of Progressive by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 351,455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $84,212,000 after purchasing an additional 42,496 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. raised its stake in Progressive by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 641,190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $153,636,000 after purchasing an additional 34,462 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $274.73 on Friday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $264.61 and its two-hundred day moving average is $255.62. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $161.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.08, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.06.

Insider Activity

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 owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 66,255 shares of company stock worth $16,877,471. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Progressive

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.