First Bank & Trust Raises Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

First Bank & Trust boosted its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 3.6% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 12,730 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 438 shares during the period. First Bank & Trust’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,633,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. TCW Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,988,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,090,000. Invesco LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.0% during the fourth quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 3,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares in the last quarter. Strs Ohio grew its stake in Progressive by 3.1% in the fourth quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 168,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,788,000 after purchasing an additional 4,983 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in Progressive by 2.2% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 210,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $33,522,000 after purchasing an additional 4,443 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock traded down $3.64 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $207.71. 4,068,275 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,532,151. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $111.41 and a 12 month high of $217.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50 day moving average of $209.49 and a two-hundred day moving average of $193.60.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. Progressive’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. HSBC boosted their price target on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $216.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total transaction of $135,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $828,485.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 24,518 shares of company stock worth $5,055,674. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company 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.