The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Shares Bought by Alta Advisers Ltd

Alta Advisers Ltd raised its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 56.8% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,036 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the quarter. Alta Advisers Ltd's holdings in Progressive were worth $859,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Up 1.0%

PGR stock traded up $2.50 during trading on Friday, hitting $260.30. 2,685,585 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,775,782. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $274.38 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $265.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market capitalization of $152.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55, a PEG ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.37. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $207.50 and a 52-week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 33.50%. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 4th will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a yield of 0.15%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of several recent research reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,267 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total transaction of $329,901.46. Following the sale, the insider owned 27,621 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,191,955.98. The trade was a 4.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total value of $1,041,520.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 41,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,750,829.82. The trade was a 8.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,705 shares of company stock valued at $11,450,948 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.34% 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.