Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. Purchases Shares of 3,074 The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Whitaker Myers Wealth Managers LTD. purchased a new stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 3,074 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $870,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position 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 worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the period. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. 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. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $288.59.

Progressive Stock Down 0.4%

PGR opened at $279.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $163.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The business has a 50-day moving average of $276.19 and a 200-day moving average of $264.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total transaction of $2,753,700.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 238,024 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $65,544,668.88. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.67, for a total value of $691,398.30. Following the transaction, the director now owns 12,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,451,160.43. This trade represents a 16.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 37,755 shares of company stock worth $10,367,074. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Progressive

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 Co. (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.