First American Trust FSB Takes Position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Key Points

• First American Trust FSB purchased 25,521 shares of The Progressive Corporation, valued at approximately $7,223,000, during the first quarter, marking a significant investment in the insurance provider.
• Progressive reported earnings of $4.88 per share for the previous quarter, exceeding analyst estimates, with a revenue of $20.08 billion, though slightly below expectations.
• Insider activity shows a notable decrease in ownership as insiders sold a combined 104,250 shares valued at over $26 million in the last quarter.

First American Trust FSB purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 25,521 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $7,223,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter valued at $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have commented on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Tuesday. They set a "neutral" rating on the stock. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $283.94.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded down $2.13 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $242.75. 2,396,450 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,425,107. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.02 and a 200 day simple moving average of $266.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $220.33 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.68, a P/E/G ratio of 1.44 and a beta of 0.33.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.25%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total value of $7,423,399.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,741,523.40. The trade was a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total transaction of $1,041,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 41,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,750,829.82. This represents a 8.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 104,250 shares of company stock worth $26,332,348 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.