Confluence Investment Management LLC Decreases Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Confluence Investment Management LLC decreased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 34.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 568,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 301,394 shares during the period. Progressive comprises 2.3% of Confluence Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest holding. Confluence Investment Management LLC owned about 0.10% of Progressive worth $160,761,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its position in Progressive by 28.0% during the first quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,469 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $699,000 after purchasing an additional 540 shares in the last quarter. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $54,000. 111 Capital purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $4,134,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 36.4% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 175,853 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $42,136,000 after acquiring an additional 46,915 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TFR Capital LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $1,712,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays boosted their target price on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 price target on Progressive and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Eight research 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 has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.59.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total value of $2,753,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 238,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,544,668.88. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the company's 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 43,651 shares of company stock worth $12,017,780. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR traded up $7.52 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $284.82. The company's stock had a trading volume of 5,075,017 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,656,610. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $275.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $263.53. The stock has a market cap of $166.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (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 the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

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.