Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Purchases 39,890 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ increased its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 869,988 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,890 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for 0.9% of Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest position. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ owned about 0.15% of Progressive worth $208,449,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 13.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after buying an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,205,266,000 after purchasing an additional 842,109 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 36,819.8% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 568,195 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,145,000 after acquiring an additional 566,656 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $277.52 on Thursday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $256.53 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.50. The firm has a market cap of $162.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $197.77 and a 1-year high of $287.49. 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 issued its quarterly 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%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective 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 increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.59.

Progressive 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.