Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI Has $113.72 Million Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI lifted its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 75.3% during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 547,512 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 235,269 shares during the period. Progressive makes up approximately 1.0% of Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI’s holdings in Progressive were worth $113,724,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hilltop National Bank lifted its position in Progressive by 126.0% in the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently issued reports on PGR. HSBC raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Bank of America increased their target price on Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.18.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at $7,626,840. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 154,332 shares of company stock valued at $35,466,904 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $256.60 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $235.90 and its 200 day moving average is $218.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.28 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $137.59 and a 1 year high of $260.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

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.