Eagle Asset Management Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 92.8% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 39,098 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 18,820 shares during the period. Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $10,225,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,836,218 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $973,479,000 after buying an additional 39,675 shares during the last quarter. Banco Santander S.A. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 14.0% during the third quarter. Banco Santander S.A. now owns 104,276 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,461,000 after acquiring an additional 12,845 shares in the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 53,269 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,518,000 after purchasing an additional 1,362 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Investment Consultants LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $3,747,000. Finally, LPL Financial LLC grew its position in Progressive by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 391,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,290,000 after purchasing an additional 66,628 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays lifted their target price on Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.81.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $266.06 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $155.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.36. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $253.06 and a 200 day moving average of $231.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $149.14 and a twelve month high of $266.18.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $748,678.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,462,038.44. This trade represents a 13.71 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,209 shares of company stock worth $14,975,979 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.