Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC Makes New Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Alpha DNA Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 3,241 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $822,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in Progressive by 21.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,205,266,000 after acquiring an additional 842,109 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew 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 purchasing an additional 594,330 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 206.8% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 875,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $222,207,000 after purchasing an additional 590,235 shares in the last quarter. Swedbank AB acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $116,852,000. Finally, Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ boosted its holdings in Progressive by 457.2% during the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 651,707 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $135,366,000 after buying an additional 534,754 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total transaction of $1,964,096.16. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $3,876,384.69. The trade was a 33.63 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,626,840. This represents a 9.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 59,209 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,979. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Barclays increased their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.81.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR opened at $266.06 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $149.14 and a twelve month high of $266.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $155.86 billion, a PE ratio of 19.34, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.36. 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 firm’s 50-day moving average price is $253.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $231.63.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 13.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.