Generali Asset Management SPA SGR Takes Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Generali Asset Management SPA SGR bought a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 69,461 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $16,644,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in Progressive by 98.2% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 789 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after acquiring an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 3,720 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.0% in 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 period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted 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 worth $103,990,000 after acquiring an additional 415,628 shares during the period. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC lifted 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 worth $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $291.69 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $170.99 billion, a PE ratio of 20.26, 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 current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $259.18 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $254.36. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 10th. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total value of $1,305,919.30. Following the sale, the insider now owns 15,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 62,257 shares of company stock valued at $15,752,781. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

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.