Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd Acquires 1,029 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 1.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 57,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares during the quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd’s holdings in Progressive were worth $9,170,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $840,885,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $802,968,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Progressive by 14.1% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,554,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,002,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666,449 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its holdings in Progressive by 25.4% in the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,721,345 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $871,826,000 after acquiring an additional 1,361,665 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in Progressive by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,781,075 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $666,004,000 after purchasing an additional 1,154,591 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 2.4 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $214.69 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $125.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $111.41 and a 12-month high of $215.18. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $199.92 and a 200-day moving average of $175.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.88.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at $1,494,976.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,139 shares of company stock worth $7,458,139. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.