Candriam S.C.A. Buys 19,849 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Candriam S.C.A. raised its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 6.0% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 348,804 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,849 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A. owned about 0.06% of Progressive worth $86,137,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the third quarter worth about $25,000. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter valued at about $33,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Westside Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 900.0% during the second quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Richardson Financial Services Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 1,885.7% in the 2nd quarter. Richardson Financial Services Inc. now owns 139 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 26,354 shares in the company, valued at $5,924,379.20. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. This represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 13,788 shares of company stock valued at $3,018,961. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $202.41 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a market capitalization of $118.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $197.92 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $217.20 and a 200-day moving average of $229.21.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was 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 2.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $252.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $305.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $350.00 to $348.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 9th. Barclays upgraded Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $257.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $226.00 target price on Progressive in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $251.29.

About Progressive

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.