Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC Has $765,000 Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 48.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,200 shares during the period. Sheaff Brock Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 143.6% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Citigroup cut their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $222.94.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR traded up $2.91 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $215.68. 1,886,729 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,595,885. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $124.06 and a one year high of $229.00. The firm has a market cap of $126.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.08, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $210.24 and a 200-day moving average of $200.64.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,383.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total transaction of $466,421.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $213,383.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $4,859,739.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,836,041.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 108,168 shares of company stock valued at $22,937,984 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is 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.