SG Americas Securities LLC Buys 575,252 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

SG Americas Securities LLC grew its stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 1,019.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 631,707 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 575,252 shares during the period. Progressive comprises approximately 0.6% of SG Americas Securities LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 21st largest holding. SG Americas Securities LLC owned 0.11% of Progressive worth $178,779,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $1,843,045,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Progressive by 39,285.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 3,046,037 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $862,059,000 after buying an additional 3,038,303 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its position in Progressive by 67.6% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,239,143,000 after buying an additional 2,085,833 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $408,416,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,451,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,677 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 28th. Finally, Bank of America raised Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, April 28th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.59.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,267 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.81, for a total value of $351,985.27. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,888 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,025,375.28. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total value of $2,753,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 238,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,544,668.88. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 37,755 shares of company stock valued at $10,367,074 in the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 0.1%

PGR stock traded up $0.38 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $268.80. The stock had a trading volume of 746,626 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,670,070. 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 Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $202.30 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $275.93 and a 200 day moving average of $264.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $157.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.66, 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 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.