Central Bank & Trust Co. Trims Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Central Bank & Trust Co. trimmed its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 16.1% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 23,543 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,510 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up 1.1% of Central Bank & Trust Co.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest position. Central Bank & Trust Co.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,663,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of PGR. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in Progressive by 119.0% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 138 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $479,391.36. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 26,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,546,174.02. This trade represents a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,755 shares of company stock valued at $10,367,074. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 price target on shares of Progressive and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Barclays raised their price objective on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their target price on Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.59.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock traded down $8.08 during trading on Monday, reaching $271.24. 5,885,898 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,669,122. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $276.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $264.50. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a market cap of $159.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.84, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40.

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

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.