The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock Position Raised by Bensler LLC

Bensler LLC boosted its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 5.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 66,245 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 3,536 shares during the period. Progressive makes up approximately 2.3% of Bensler LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 10th biggest position. Bensler LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $18,748,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vivid Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,143,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its position in Progressive by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,199 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,881,000 after buying an additional 527 shares in the last quarter. Allstate Corp bought a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $4,205,000. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,667,903 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $878,866,000 after purchasing an additional 111,659 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jump Financial LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 16.8% during the 4th quarter. Jump Financial LLC now owns 86,076 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $20,625,000 after purchasing an additional 12,351 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wall Street Zen lowered Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, Bank of America raised Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.59.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,267 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.81, for a total value of $351,985.27. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 28,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,025,375.28. This represents a 4.20% 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, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total value of $2,685,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 248,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 37,755 shares of company stock worth $10,367,074. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $267.58. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,152,193 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,680,269. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $203.39 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $275.93 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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.