Van ECK Associates Corp Purchases 2,569 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,728 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,569 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Progressive were worth $28,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 106.6% during the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Howard Hughes Medical Institute bought a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 450.0% in the 3rd quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total transaction of $460,111.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,330,062.50. This trade represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,857,776. The trade was a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 12,761 shares of company stock valued at $2,659,420 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Evercore set a $230.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Bank of America decreased their target price on Progressive from $315.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $214.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $259.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, March 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $241.94.

Progressive Stock Down 2.8%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $201.19 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $207.56 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.35 and a quick ratio of 0.35. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $197.92 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap of $117.88 billion, a PE ratio of 10.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.33.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.08%.

Progressive Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.