The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) is Lafayette Investments Inc.'s 3rd Largest Position

Lafayette Investments Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 1.4% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 90,779 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,261 shares during the quarter. Progressive makes up approximately 5.4% of Lafayette Investments Inc.'s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Lafayette Investments Inc.'s holdings in Progressive were worth $25,691,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,795,262,000 after purchasing an additional 583,376 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,498,363,000 after purchasing an additional 189,638 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $1,843,045,000. Northern Trust Corp raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,480,677,000 after buying an additional 710,684 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 34.3% during the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,451,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547,677 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock opened at $261.80 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $274.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $264.65. 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 twelve month low of $207.48 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $153.47 billion, a PE ratio of 17.65, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 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 the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 33.50%. Research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America upgraded Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, June 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Progressive and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, May 19th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and set a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $288.88.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,267 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.81, for a total transaction of $351,985.27. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 28,888 shares in the company, valued at $8,025,375.28. The trade was a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available 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 stock was sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total value of $2,685,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,616,766.16. The trade was a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,705 shares of company stock worth $8,813,048. 0.34% of the stock is currently 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding PGR? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report).

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.