Joseph Group Capital Management Raises Stock Position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Joseph Group Capital Management raised its position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 12,845 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 1,208 shares during the quarter. Progressive accounts for approximately 1.4% of Joseph Group Capital Management's holdings, making the stock its 23rd largest holding. Joseph Group Capital Management's holdings in Progressive were worth $3,635,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Progressive from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and cut their price target for the stock from $330.00 to $290.00 in a report on Monday. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of 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 shares of Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $285.41.

Progressive Trading Down 1.8%

PGR traded down $4.61 during trading on Friday, hitting $244.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,182,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,810,532. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $143.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a PEG ratio of 1.57 and a beta of 0.37. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $272.26 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.57. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $208.13 and a twelve month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 33.50%. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total transaction of $2,753,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 238,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at $65,544,668.88. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Stuart B. Burgdoerfer sold 3,681 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total transaction of $958,642.83. Following the sale, the director directly owned 12,217 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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. Insiders sold 42,705 shares of company stock worth $11,450,948 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% 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.