The Progressive Corporation $PGR Shares Purchased by Erste Asset Management GmbH

Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 38.0% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 872,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 240,214 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for approximately 1.7% of Erste Asset Management GmbH’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Progressive were worth $198,836,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 106.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $33,000. Kingdom Financial Group LLC. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Bangor Savings Bank increased its stake in Progressive by 60.4% in the 4th quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PGR. Bank of America dropped their price target on Progressive from $325.00 to $320.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 20th. Evercore reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, March 18th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 31st. Argus raised Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $238.11.

Progressive Trading Up 0.1%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $204.27 on Monday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $283.95. The firm has a market capitalization of $119.36 billion, a PE ratio of 10.39, a PEG ratio of 5.91 and a beta of 0.28. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $198.89 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.75.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $4.37 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.03%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. The trade was a 32.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

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.