The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Handelsbanken Fonder AB

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 207,442 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,831 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Progressive were worth $49,705,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independence Bank of Kentucky grew its holdings in Progressive by 1,650.0% in the fourth quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 175 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PGR. Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 18th. Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.88.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. This represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 2.2 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $269.71 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.11 and its 200-day simple moving average is $248.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $186.94 and a 1-year high of $270.79. The firm has a market cap of $158.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.73, a PEG ratio of 0.67 and a beta of 0.42.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share 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 forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.43 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

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.