Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Sells 1,566 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC lessened its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 25.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,588 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,566 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $1,298,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Brighton Jones LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.6% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $813,000 after purchasing an additional 457 shares during the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $269,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $119,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 6.8% during the 4th quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,252 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,415,000 after buying an additional 909 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Progressive by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,145 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $514,000 after buying an additional 144 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was 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 directly owns 238,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,544,668.88. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares in the company, valued at $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 37,755 shares of company stock valued at $10,367,074. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $5.01 during trading on Thursday, hitting $268.23. 3,045,531 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,678,885. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $201.34 and a 1-year high of $292.99. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $157.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $275.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $264.53.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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 during 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%. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 price target on Progressive and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.59.

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.