Czech National Bank Buys 5,591 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Czech National Bank increased its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 148,885 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,591 shares during the quarter. Czech National Bank’s holdings in Progressive were worth $36,767,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 0.9% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,516,288 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,548,217,000 after acquiring an additional 493,332 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 2.0% in the second 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 in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased 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 worth $2,928,141,000 after purchasing an additional 2,709,417 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at $2,156,939,000. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,805,642,000 after buying an additional 396,567 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. HSBC set a $259.00 price objective on Progressive and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 27th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 17th. Mizuho began coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $242.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Progressive from $262.00 to $246.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, November 5th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $264.92.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $536,977.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 43,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,532,802.60. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 17,673 shares of company stock valued at $4,163,005 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 2.0%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $227.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $133.26 billion, a PE ratio of 12.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.03 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $223.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $241.71. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $199.90 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). The business had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.19%.

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.