Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec Acquires 641,943 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 75.3% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 641,943 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up approximately 0.8% of Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest holding. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec’s holdings in Progressive were worth $379,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 21.6% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,205,266,000 after acquiring an additional 842,109 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in 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 valued at $151,325,000 after acquiring an additional 594,330 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 206.8% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 875,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $222,207,000 after acquiring an additional 590,235 shares in the last quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its position in shares of Progressive by 457.2% in the second quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ now owns 651,707 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $135,366,000 after purchasing an additional 534,754 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund raised 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 valued at $260,102,000 after purchasing an additional 518,262 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $268.93 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $149.14 and a one year high of $270.62. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $233.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. As a group, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $269.81.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,876,384.69. This represents a 33.63 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The trade was a 8.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 59,209 shares of company stock worth $14,975,979. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.