Handelsbanken Fonder AB Raises Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 46.0% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 294,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 92,817 shares during the quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB’s holdings in Progressive were worth $72,707,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,667,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,500,146,000 after purchasing an additional 151,240 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,513,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,128,055,000 after purchasing an additional 301,371 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Progressive by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,928,141,000 after buying an additional 2,709,417 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,156,939,000. Finally, Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the second quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 4,129,069 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,101,883,000 after buying an additional 42,909 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group set a $216.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, February 11th. HSBC lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $225.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday. Bank of America cut their price target on Progressive from $350.00 to $348.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $244.71.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $336,973.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 39,626 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,097,573.10. This trade represents a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $150,201.75. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 9,103 shares of company stock valued at $1,883,924 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 3.5%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $211.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $124.08 billion, a PE ratio of 11.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.32. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $197.92 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $210.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $225.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.08%.

Progressive Company Profile

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.