E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB Sells 33,287 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB lessened its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 180,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 33,287 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for approximately 1.2% of E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest position. E. Ohman J or Asset Management AB’s holdings in Progressive were worth $48,171,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 1.2% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,289,037,000 after buying an additional 622,590 shares during the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 61.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,362,039,000 after acquiring an additional 3,174,632 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its holdings in Progressive by 15.2% in the 1st quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,338,556,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091,828 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in 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 valued at $1,805,642,000 after acquiring an additional 396,567 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 18.1% during the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,983,567 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,433,722,000 after purchasing an additional 915,643 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 506,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $122,741,523.40. This trade represents a 5.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,010 shares of company stock worth $34,547,699 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $344.00 to $347.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 10th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $284.82.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $248.29 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $246.44 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.58. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $228.54 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.99, a PEG ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.48 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.25%.

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.