The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) is Erste Asset Management GmbH's 6th Largest Position

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 33.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 661,473 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 166,622 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises 1.9% of Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. Erste Asset Management GmbH owned 0.11% of Progressive worth $158,864,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Progressive by 98.2% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 789 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $189,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 90.9% during the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,813 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,983,000 after acquiring an additional 3,720 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 7.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,286,036,000 after acquiring an additional 330,667 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 2,262.4% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 433,999 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $103,990,000 after buying an additional 415,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 42.3% in the fourth quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,849,000 after buying an additional 3,534 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

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Progressive Stock Up 0.7 %

NYSE PGR traded up $1.99 during trading on Thursday, reaching $279.54. 3,046,396 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,693,404. The stock has a market cap of $163.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $257.30 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $253.68. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $199.54 and a 1 year high of $287.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of a number of research reports. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $277.82.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,227 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $281.00, for a total value of $344,787.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 28,393 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,978,433. The trade was a 4.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock valued at $15,752,781. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

About Progressive

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.