The Progressive Corporation $PGR Stock Holdings Increased by Ashton Thomas Securities LLC

Key Points

• Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its holdings in The Progressive Corporation by 52.0% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 1,518 shares valued at approximately $1,256,000.
• Insider transactions revealed that CFO John P. Sauerland and CEO Susan Patricia Griffith both sold significant amounts of stock, reducing their ownership by 6.81% and 5.70%, respectively.
• Analysts have recently cut their price targets for Progressive, with Barclays and UBS lowering theirs to $281.00 and $268.00, respectively, while the average consensus target price now stands at $284.18.

Ashton Thomas Securities LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 52.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,439 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,518 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $1,256,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $335,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $549,000 after purchasing an additional 38 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,036,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Down 2.1%

NYSE PGR traded down $5.25 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $243.76. 1,690,776 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,637,555. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $228.54 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.98 and a 200-day simple moving average of $265.58. 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 company has a market cap of $142.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect 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 will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Progressive from $330.00 to $327.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. UBS Group dropped their target price on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $284.18.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,767,027.20. The trade was a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,232 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.16, for a total value of $1,509,141.12. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,844 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,742,703.04. This represents a 18.29% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 139,010 shares of company stock worth $34,547,699. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.