Financial Counselors Inc. Sells 1,351 Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Financial Counselors Inc. cut its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 3.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 43,116 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,351 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $12,202,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State of Alaska Department of Revenue raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 36.4% in the 1st quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,893,000 after buying an additional 33,864 shares during the period. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH increased its position in Progressive by 498.5% in the 1st quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,431,000 after buying an additional 4,212 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $3,141,000. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Progressive by 16.5% in the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 93,463 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,451,000 after buying an additional 13,231 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Down 0.8%

NYSE:PGR traded down $2.15 on Tuesday, reaching $251.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 4,960,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,214,057. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $207.50 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $147.37 billion, a PE ratio of 16.95, a PEG ratio of 1.61 and a beta of 0.37. The business's 50-day moving average price is $273.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $265.71.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share 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 analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.50% and a net margin of 11.10%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on PGR. Morgan Stanley downgraded Progressive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and dropped their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Barclays decreased their price target on Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $285.94.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total transaction of $2,753,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 238,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,544,668.88. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Stuart B. Burgdoerfer sold 3,681 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total value of $958,642.83. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,217 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,181,673.31. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 42,705 shares of company stock valued at $11,450,948. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

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.