Lantz Financial LLC Sells 5,037 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Lantz Financial LLC cut its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 41.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,166 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 5,037 shares during the period. Lantz Financial LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $2,028,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PGR. Andrew Hill Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $6,218,000. Rothschild Investment LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.5% in the 1st quarter. Rothschild Investment LLC now owns 1,656 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $469,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 398.5% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 329 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $93,000 after purchasing an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. GoalVest Advisory LLC now owns 5,301 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,500,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 39,285.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,046,037 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $862,059,000 after purchasing an additional 3,038,303 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded up $3.66 during trading on Monday, hitting $288.59. The company had a trading volume of 2,107,612 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,646,755. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $275.72 and its 200 day moving average price is $263.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.04, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. Equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 target price on Progressive and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays lifted their target price on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.59.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,267 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.81, for a total transaction of $351,985.27. Following the sale, the insider now owns 28,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,025,375.28. This represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total transaction of $2,685,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,024 shares in the company, valued at $66,616,766.16. This trade represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 43,651 shares of company stock valued at $12,017,780 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

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.