1,200 Shares in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Bought by Guidance Capital Inc.

Guidance Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 1,200 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $339,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 14th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.88.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $247.26 on Wednesday. The business's fifty day moving average price is $267.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.09. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $208.13 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.25%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, Director Stuart B. Burgdoerfer sold 3,681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total transaction of $958,642.83. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,181,673.31. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.67, for a total value of $691,398.30. Following the transaction, the director owned 12,429 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,451,160.43. The trade was a 16.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 43,972 shares of company stock valued at $11,764,581 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.33% 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.