The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by New Century Financial Group LLC

New Century Financial Group LLC cut its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 57.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 763 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,025 shares during the quarter. New Century Financial Group LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $216,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 119.0% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 138 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Roxbury Financial LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $50,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wall Street Zen cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted 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. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $288.59.

Progressive Trading Down 0.3%

PGR stock traded down $0.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $267.58. 3,152,193 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,680,121. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $276.07 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.55. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock has a market capitalization of $156.86 billion, a PE ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $203.39 and a 1-year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares of the company's stock, valued at $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $479,391.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 26,697 shares in the company, valued at $7,546,174.02. This trade represents a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,755 shares of company stock valued at $10,367,074 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.