Conning Inc. Sells 4,287 Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Conning Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,247 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 4,287 shares during the quarter. Conning Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,598,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $28,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total transaction of $1,041,520.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 41,289 shares in the company, valued at $10,750,829.82. This trade represents a 8.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.67, for a total value of $691,398.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,451,160.43. The trade was a 16.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,705 shares of company stock valued at $11,450,948 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR traded up $2.50 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $260.30. The stock had a trading volume of 2,685,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,775,782. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The stock has a market cap of $152.59 billion, a PE ratio of 17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.37. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $207.50 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $274.38 and its 200 day simple moving average is $265.18.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued 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 company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.50% and a net margin of 11.10%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

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.