The Progressive Corporation $PGR Holdings Lifted by Assenagon Asset Management S.A.

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 17.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 36,042 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,468 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,207,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,667,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,500,146,000 after purchasing an additional 151,240 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in Progressive by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,373,474,000 after buying an additional 78,374 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Progressive by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,384,082,000 after buying an additional 6,045,732 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,928,141,000 after acquiring an additional 2,709,417 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Down 2.2%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $198.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.06 billion, a PE ratio of 10.31, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.33. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $197.92 and a 1 year high of $289.96. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $205.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $219.49.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 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 currently 2.08%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price objective on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Evercore reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Bank of America cut their price target on Progressive from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $239.22.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $745,604.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,687 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,044. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Company 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.