The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock Holdings Lifted by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 869,988 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 39,890 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for 0.9% of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Progressive were worth $208,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Versor Investments LP boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 200.5% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 3,005 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $763,000 after purchasing an additional 2,005 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.9% in the 3rd quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 13,343 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,386,000 after acquiring an additional 1,422 shares in the last quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. lifted its stake in Progressive by 0.9% in the 3rd quarter. Baillie Gifford & Co. now owns 77,756 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,731,000 after purchasing an additional 700 shares during the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 642.0% during the third quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 371 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $94,000 after acquiring an additional 321 shares during the period. Finally, Savvy Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $593,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays boosted their target price on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.59.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,257 shares of company stock valued at $15,752,781 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $277.52 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $256.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $253.50. 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 Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $197.77 and a 1-year high of $287.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend 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.