Van ECK Associates Corp Has $28.33 Million Position in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 114,728 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,569 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Progressive were worth $28,332,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $42,639,000. Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in shares of Progressive by 26.1% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,757,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Sarl now owns 14,633 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,614,000 after purchasing an additional 2,890 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Inc. CA grew its position in Progressive by 63.2% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Inc. CA now owns 181,523 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $44,827,000 after purchasing an additional 70,273 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its position in Progressive by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,384,082,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045,732 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $201.19 on Thursday. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $197.92 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $207.56 and a 200 day moving average of $223.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a current ratio of 0.35. The firm has a market cap of $117.88 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46, a PEG ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd 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 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays upgraded Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $257.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. William Blair downgraded shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $225.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 19th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.94.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,649 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $336,973.15. Following the sale, the insider owned 39,626 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,097,573.10. The trade was a 4.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 12,761 shares of company stock worth $2,659,420 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.