Channel Wealth LLC Takes $2.49 Million Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Channel Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 8,797 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,490,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Archer Investment Corp grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 295.1% during the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,102 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 1,570 shares during the last quarter. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its position in Progressive by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 51,770 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $13,066,000 after acquiring an additional 15,512 shares during the period. Vivid Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,143,000. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,199 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,881,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Finally, Paragon Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,519,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $435,861.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 268,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $75,759,663.84. This represents a 0.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,267 shares of the firm'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 transaction of $351,985.27. Following the sale, the insider now owns 28,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,025,375.28. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,755 shares of company stock worth $10,367,074 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR traded down $2.37 during trading on Thursday, reaching $279.80. 2,520,686 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,651,285. 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 company has a market capitalization of $164.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.43, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The business's 50 day moving average price is $276.36 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $264.11.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America raised Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm boosted their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Eight 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, Progressive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.59.

Progressive 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.