Manning & Napier Advisors LLC Buys Shares of 19,775 The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm bought 19,775 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $5,597,000.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the 1st quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,426,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 36.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,893,000 after acquiring an additional 33,864 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter worth $3,141,000. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH boosted its holdings in Progressive by 498.5% in the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 4,212 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its position in Progressive by 16.5% during the 1st quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 93,463 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,451,000 after purchasing an additional 13,231 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded up $4.38 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $266.39. The company's stock had a trading volume of 3,006,400 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,712,355. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $275.09 and a 200-day moving average of $264.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $156.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.96, a PEG ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.40. 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 Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $204.88 and a 12-month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 33.50%. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America upgraded Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.88.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total transaction of $1,041,520.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 41,289 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $10,750,829.82. This represents a 8.83% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total transaction of $110,016.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,370 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,084.80. This trade represents 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 have sold 43,105 shares of company stock valued at $11,682,464. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.