Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Sells 290,977 Shares of PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lessened its stake in shares of PROG Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PRG - Free Report) by 74.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 102,478 shares of the company's stock after selling 290,977 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned 0.25% of PROG worth $4,331,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in PROG by 40.9% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 45,411 shares of the company's stock worth $2,180,000 after purchasing an additional 13,186 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in PROG by 22.7% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 347,155 shares of the company's stock valued at $16,834,000 after buying an additional 64,197 shares in the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in PROG in the third quarter valued at about $868,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in PROG by 1.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 414,305 shares of the company's stock valued at $20,090,000 after acquiring an additional 6,517 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new position in PROG during the third quarter worth about $560,000. 97.92% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

PROG Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of PROG stock traded up $0.78 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $43.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 310,965 shares, compared to its average volume of 329,030. The stock has a market cap of $1.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16 and a beta of 2.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 4.97 and a quick ratio of 2.34. PROG Holdings, Inc. has a 52 week low of $27.84 and a 52 week high of $50.28. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $44.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $44.30.

PROG (NYSE:PRG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The company reported $0.77 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.76 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $606.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $601.86 million. PROG had a return on equity of 24.56% and a net margin of 6.55%. The business's revenue was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.90 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that PROG Holdings, Inc. will post 3.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

PROG Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 3rd. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, November 19th were issued a dividend of $0.12 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, November 19th. This represents a $0.48 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.09%. PROG's payout ratio is 13.30%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PRG has been the topic of several research reports. TD Cowen raised shares of PROG to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Friday, November 29th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of PROG from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 1st. Stephens reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of PROG in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Finally, Raymond James raised PROG from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $48.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $53.83.

Insider Transactions at PROG

In related news, CFO Brian Garner sold 5,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.29, for a total transaction of $246,450.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 107,720 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,309,518.80. This trade represents a 4.44 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Steven A. Michaels sold 27,324 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $47.19, for a total value of $1,289,419.56. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 409,209 shares in the company, valued at approximately $19,310,572.71. This trade represents a 6.26 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 119,207 shares of company stock worth $5,759,152. Company insiders own 2.74% of the company's stock.

PROG Profile

PROG Holdings, Inc NYSE: PRG is a financial technology holding company based in Salt Lake City, Utah with three business segments: Progressive Leasing, which offers lease-to-own transactions primarily to credit-challenged consumers through e-commerce and point-of-sale retail partners, via online, mobile, and in-store solutions; Vive Financial, which provides consumers who may not qualify for traditional prime lending with a variety of second-look, revolving credit products through private label and branded credit cards; and Four Technologies, which provides consumers of all credit backgrounds Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) options through four interest-free installments via its platform, Four.