Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. Trims Holdings in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. decreased its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 3.5% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 29,566 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,076 shares during the period. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $8,367,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC increased its position in Progressive by 1.0% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,078,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. Pines Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares in the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 2.0% during the first quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the period. Beacon Financial Group increased its position in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the first quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the period. Finally, Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 price objective on Progressive and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.59.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $260.31 on Friday. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $204.88 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $152.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.63 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $275.63 and a 200 day moving average of $264.45. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.50% and a net margin of 11.10%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total transaction of $2,759,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 258,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $71,199,142.56. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total transaction of $110,016.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,370 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,302,084.80. The trade was a 4.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 34,157 shares of company stock worth $9,352,400. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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