Tredje AP fonden Has $8.21 Million Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Tredje AP fonden raised its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 14.5% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 39,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,000 shares during the period. Tredje AP fonden’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,205,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PGR. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 237.8% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,485,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $236,650,000 after buying an additional 1,045,883 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC grew its position in Progressive by 4,545.0% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $145,858,000 after acquiring an additional 690,060 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 548.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,866,000 after purchasing an additional 686,433 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,018,592,000 after purchasing an additional 670,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $116,852,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at $6,808,963.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the sale, the director now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,808,963.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock worth $33,367,408. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PGR opened at $257.69 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $232.38 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.31. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $137.59 and a 12-month high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.57 earnings per share. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on PGR. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price objective for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

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.