Avanza Fonder AB Boosts Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Avanza Fonder AB lifted its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 49,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,663 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Progressive were worth $11,353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 30.2% in the third quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 102,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,381,000 after purchasing an additional 23,833 shares during the period. Allstate Corp boosted its stake in Progressive by 1,614.1% during the third quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 21,598 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,334,000 after buying an additional 20,338 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in Progressive by 91.7% during the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 11,710 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,892,000 after buying an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its position in Progressive by 40.6% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 16,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,159,000 after buying an additional 4,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its stake in Progressive by 471.3% in the 3rd quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 22,496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,556,000 after acquiring an additional 18,558 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value 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. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 11,687 shares of company stock worth $2,413,044 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price target on Progressive from $308.00 to $305.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.83.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $204.97 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.84 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $220.49. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $197.92 and a 12-month high of $289.96. The firm has a market cap of $120.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.65, a PEG ratio of 6.49 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. 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 currently 2.08%.

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.