Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas Purchases New Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund bought 138,922 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $35,253,000. Progressive accounts for 1.8% of Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas' investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Sachetta LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 34.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 209 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $45,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 3.7 %

Shares of NYSE PGR traded up $9.10 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $251.86. The company had a trading volume of 3,285,823 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,484,099. The stock has a market cap of $147.54 billion, a PE ratio of 18.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.38. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $149.14 and a one year high of $270.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $253.98 and its 200-day moving average price is $236.23.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the transaction, the director now owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at $3,462,038.44. This represents a 13.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 25,839 shares of company stock valued at $6,718,965 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Barclays lifted their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $270.69.

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.