WT Asset Management Ltd Buys New Shares in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

WT Asset Management Ltd purchased a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 60,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $16,981,000. Progressive comprises about 2.0% of WT Asset Management Ltd's holdings, making the stock its 18th biggest holding.

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

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock traded down $6.55 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $257.75. 3,422,728 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,770,179. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $274.62 and a 200-day moving average price of $265.16. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $207.50 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $151.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.38, a P/E/G ratio of 1.62 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

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 company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 33.50%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 4th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 238,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,544,668.88. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,267 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total value of $329,901.46. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,621 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,191,955.98. The trade was a 4.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 42,705 shares of company stock valued at $11,450,948. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.88.

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.