Pictet Asset Management Holding SA Grows Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 13.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 351,455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 42,496 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned 0.06% of Progressive worth $84,212,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $1,843,045,000. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,239,143,000 after acquiring an additional 2,085,833 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 13.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,652,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares during the period. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in shares of Progressive by 75.3% during the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,139,000 after purchasing an additional 641,943 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.06.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total transaction of $110,016.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,084.80. This represents a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 66,255 shares of company stock worth $16,877,471 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $279.13 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $163.64 billion, a PE ratio of 19.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $265.32 and a 200-day moving average price of $255.86. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

About Progressive

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.