Forbes J M & Co. LLP Buys 1,337 Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Forbes J M & Co. LLP grew its holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 48,490 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,337 shares during the period. Progressive makes up about 1.3% of Forbes J M & Co. LLP's portfolio, making the stock its 24th biggest position. Forbes J M & Co. LLP's holdings in Progressive were worth $13,723,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its position in Progressive by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 210.0% in the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Progressive in the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the first quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group dropped their target price on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday. Wall Street Zen cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.88.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,490 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated 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 $3,451,160.43. This represents a 16.69% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $263.79, for a total transaction of $2,637,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $60,150,450.96. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,972 shares of company stock worth $11,764,581 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Progressive Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $247.26 on Wednesday. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $208.13 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $267.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $266.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market cap of $144.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.93, a PEG ratio of 1.48 and a beta of 0.37.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. Progressive's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 4th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

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.

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