Erste Asset Management GmbH Has $182.36 Million Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Erste Asset Management GmbH trimmed its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2.1% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 647,639 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 13,834 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises approximately 2.3% of Erste Asset Management GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest holding. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Progressive were worth $182,364,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 10.1% during the first quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 7,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,177,000 after purchasing an additional 705 shares during the period. Credit Agricole S A increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.4% during the first quarter. Credit Agricole S A now owns 367,759 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $104,079,000 after buying an additional 1,588 shares in the last quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.4% in the first quarter. Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria S.A. now owns 74,858 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $21,186,000 after purchasing an additional 1,744 shares in the last quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the first quarter. Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management N.V. now owns 26,010 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,361,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JT Stratford LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth $1,168,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $552,814.32. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 47,942 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $11,949,064.08. The trade was a 4.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,313 shares of company stock valued at $28,349,549 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.53.

Progressive Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $250.6930 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $228.54 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $252.37 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $266.40. The stock has a market cap of $146.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.25%.

Progressive Company 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.