Legacy Private Trust Co. Takes $1.21 Million Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Legacy Private Trust Co. purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 4,283 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,212,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Archer Investment Corp lifted its position in Progressive by 295.1% in the fourth quarter. Archer Investment Corp now owns 2,102 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $504,000 after purchasing an additional 1,570 shares during the period. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its position in Progressive by 42.8% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 51,770 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $13,066,000 after purchasing an additional 15,512 shares during the period. Vivid Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,143,000. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its position in Progressive by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,199 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,881,000 after purchasing an additional 527 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Strategies Group Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Financial Strategies Group Inc. now owns 39,693 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,352,000 after purchasing an additional 1,232 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total value of $2,753,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 238,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,544,668.88. The trade was a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total transaction of $110,016.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 three months, insiders sold 43,651 shares of company stock valued at $12,017,780. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. 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. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.59.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR traded up $7.52 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $284.82. 5,075,017 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,648,942. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $275.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $263.55. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a market cap of $166.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.78, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share 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. On average, sell-side analysts predict 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 paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

Progressive Company 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.