Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Buys 3,231 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 30,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,231 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $7,550,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 36.3% during the 3rd quarter. Salem Investment Counselors Inc. now owns 323 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $80,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 13.1% in the 3rd quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 3,938 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $972,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 9.1% during the third quarter. Moody National Bank Trust Division now owns 2,079 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $513,000 after purchasing an additional 173 shares in the last quarter. Heartwood Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the third quarter valued at approximately $159,000. Finally, Venture Visionary Partners LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 6.5% in the third quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 17,634 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,355,000 after purchasing an additional 1,083 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $224.30 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $222.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.83. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $199.90 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $131.53 billion, a PE ratio of 12.30, a P/E/G ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $3.58 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.19%.

Key Headlines Impacting Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised its price target on PGR to $250 and kept a “market perform” rating — a modest vote of confidence that implies upside from current levels. KBW price target raise
• Neutral Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets trimmed its target slightly (from $256 to $253) but maintained a “market perform” view; the change is small and keeps implied upside intact. BMO target change
• Neutral Sentiment: Brokerage consensus remains around “Hold” for PGR, per a recent aggregation — this keeps expectations cautious rather than bullish. Brokerage consensus
• Neutral Sentiment: Investor attention to PGR is high (search and site-traffic notes), which can amplify moves but doesn’t by itself change fundamentals. Investor interest
• Neutral Sentiment: Some headlines discuss dividend implications and a sector downgrade that could alter the investment case — watch for follow-up on capital return policy and whether downgrades spread across insurers. Dividend/sector piece
• Neutral Sentiment: Be aware of name confusion in newsfeeds: unrelated companies (e.g., a drug approval for “JASCAYD” and results from “Progressive Planet”) reference “Progressive” but do not affect PGR’s insurance business. JASCAYD approval (unrelated) Progressive Planet (unrelated)
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst skepticism: Morgan Stanley (and commentary aggregated on TipRanks) reiterated concerns — citing decelerating growth, rising competition and smaller buybacks — and kept a Sell stance, which likely weighs on sentiment and downside risk. Morgan Stanley sell thesis
• Negative Sentiment: Recent coverage notes PGR shares slipped despite a stronger market — short-term technical/flow factors and the negative analyst narrative are contributing to the decline. Price drop article

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 27,698 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,176.42. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 7,690 shares of company stock valued at $1,745,350 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have commented on PGR shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 9th. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, October 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $301.38 to $300.60 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $247.00 to $242.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $264.68.

Progressive Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.