HighTower Trust Services LTA lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR – Get Rating) by 32.3% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 41,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 19,828 shares during the period. HighTower Trust Services LTA’s holdings in Progressive were worth $4,737,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.
Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rational Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 132.7% during the 4th quarter. Rational Advisors LLC now owns 249 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. TAP Consulting LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Cornerstone Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 117.5% during the 4th quarter. Capital Advisors Ltd. LLC now owns 298 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Byrne Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.68% of the company’s stock.
A number of equity research analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $88.00 to $96.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 12th. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $85.00 to $115.00 in a report on Monday, May 9th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $88.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 19th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, May 23rd. They set a “sell” rating and a $93.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised shares of Progressive from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $96.00 to $107.00 in a report on Thursday, June 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $107.23.
In related news, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $1,150,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 58,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,752,800. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,068 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $115.00, for a total transaction of $122,820.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,724,620. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 23,251 shares of company stock worth $2,719,357 in the last 90 days. 0.37% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.
Progressive stock opened at $118.48 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39. The company has a market capitalization of $69.30 billion, a PE ratio of 32.20, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $113.30 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $110.14. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $89.35 and a twelve month high of $121.36.
Progressive (NYSE:PGR – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 14th. The insurance provider reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.24 by ($0.12). The firm had revenue of $12.29 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.24 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 4.54% and a return on equity of 12.85%. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 4.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.34%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 6th. Progressive’s payout ratio is 10.87%.
Progressive announced that its board has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, May 18th that authorizes the company to buy back 25,000,000 outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Share buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.
About Progressive: (Get Rating)
The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, 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.
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