The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stake Boosted by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 38.0% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 872,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 240,214 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for about 1.7% of Erste Asset Management GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned about 0.15% of Progressive worth $198,836,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Dagco Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $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. Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Finally, 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. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Weiss Ratings cut Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. Finally, Barclays set a $247.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $238.11.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $204.27 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $283.95. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $198.89 and its 200-day moving average is $208.75.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The company had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

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.