5,176 Shares in The Progressive Corporation $PGR Bought by Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc.

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Trust Services acquired a new stake of 5,176 shares in The Progressive Corporation in Q4, valued at approximately $1.179 million.
• Progressive reported quarterly EPS of $4.80, beating estimates by $0.13, while revenue came in at $22.19 billion versus expectations of $23.51 billion; the company posted a net margin of 12.92% and ROE of 33.47%.
• Analysts hold a consensus "Hold" rating with an average price target of $238.39, while insiders sold about 11,687 shares (~$2.41M) in the last 90 days and institutional investors own 85.34% of the stock.

Wealth Enhancement Trust Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 5,176 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,179,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Dagco Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 106.6% in the third quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Bangor Savings Bank increased its holdings in Progressive by 60.4% in the fourth quarter. Bangor Savings Bank now owns 154 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Riverview Trust Co raised its position in Progressive by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. Riverview Trust Co now owns 162 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $37,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $202.69 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $192.02 and a 12 month high of $289.96. The company has a market cap of $118.57 billion, a PE ratio of 10.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.70 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The business's 50 day moving average is $203.43 and its two-hundred day moving average is $214.69.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. Progressive's revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $4.37 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.03%.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,227. This trade represents a 32.61% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 3,105 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total value of $634,506.75. Following the transaction, the executive owned 26,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,363,983.15. This trade represents a 10.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 11,687 shares of company stock worth $2,413,044. Insiders own 0.32% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on PGR. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $208.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, March 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $259.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, March 2nd. Finally, Barclays set a $247.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $238.39.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.