Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt Invests $131.76 Million in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Alecta Tjanstepension Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund purchased 533,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $131,757,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter valued at about $2,156,939,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in Progressive by 78.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,384,082,000 after buying an additional 6,045,732 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in Progressive by 32.8% during 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 acquiring an additional 2,709,417 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors increased its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 2,012.0% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 767,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $189,546,000 after acquiring an additional 731,207 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total transaction of $336,973.15. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 39,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,097,573.10. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total value of $302,131.20. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 26,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,924,379.20. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 12,761 shares of company stock worth $2,659,420 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Trading Down 1.2%

PGR opened at $201.37 on Thursday. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $197.92 and a 1-year high of $289.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $117.99 billion, a PE ratio of 10.47, a PEG ratio of 8.88 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $206.46 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $221.58.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on PGR. HSBC cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $226.00 to $218.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $240.94.

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.