AMS Capital Ltda Has $11.42 Million Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

AMS Capital Ltda grew its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 18.6% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 47,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 7,473 shares during the period. Progressive comprises approximately 5.7% of AMS Capital Ltda’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest position. AMS Capital Ltda’s holdings in Progressive were worth $11,416,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 13.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,652,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 21.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,205,266,000 after purchasing an additional 842,109 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in Progressive by 75.3% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,139,000 after purchasing an additional 641,943 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 29,701.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 596,331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $151,325,000 after acquiring an additional 594,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 102.3% during the 3rd quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund now owns 1,024,992 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $260,102,000 after acquiring an additional 518,262 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $262.02 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $153.49 billion, a PE ratio of 18.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business’s 50-day moving average is $244.79 and its two-hundred day moving average is $246.64. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $182.23 and a 1 year high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced 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 net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays decreased their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America lifted their target price on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.71.

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.