Banque Cantonale Vaudoise Grows Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Banque Cantonale Vaudoise lifted its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 56.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 32,883 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,913 shares during the period. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise’s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,344,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Progressive by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,018,592,000 after acquiring an additional 670,006 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,922,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,022,507,000 after acquiring an additional 92,212 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.0% during the second quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,392,773 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $497,003,000 after purchasing an additional 69,709 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.3% in the third quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 1,738,400 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $441,136,000 after purchasing an additional 4,400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Progressive by 13.5% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,685,868 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $348,671,000 after purchasing an additional 200,118 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $256.56 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $252.32 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $230.44. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $149.14 and a 12-month high of $263.85. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.65, a PEG ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. This represents a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total transaction of $1,964,096.16. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,876,384.69. The trade was a 33.63 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 59,209 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,979. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. HSBC upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, August 12th. Evercore ISI raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.81.

Progressive 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.