Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Has $101.11 Million Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 11.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 421,962 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 56,388 shares during the period. Progressive accounts for about 1.0% of Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings, making the stock its 10th largest holding. Jupiter Asset Management Ltd.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $101,106,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp raised its position in Progressive by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,683,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,263,763,000 after purchasing an additional 315,411 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in Progressive by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,518,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,669,204,000 after purchasing an additional 170,618 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its position in Progressive by 7.0% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,286,036,000 after purchasing an additional 330,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in 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. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 6th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $276.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total value of $1,305,919.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,227 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.00, for a total value of $344,787.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 28,393 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,978,433. This trade represents a 4.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 62,257 shares of company stock valued at $15,752,781. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.5 %

Progressive stock opened at $277.33 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $162.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.77 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $253.33. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $195.57 and a 12 month 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 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%. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

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.