The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Purchased by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers lifted its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 259.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 67,074 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 48,397 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Progressive were worth $13,872,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,640 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Balentine LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% during the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 22,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,530,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 4.1% during the 1st quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $327,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 3.2% during the 1st quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $425,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance grew its holdings in Progressive by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,438 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $64,836,041.58. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.43, for a total transaction of $2,546,584.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 312,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,978,003.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $4,859,739.08. Following 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. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 108,168 shares of company stock worth $22,937,984. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $216.94 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $127.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $124.06 and a 52 week high of $229.00. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $211.29 and its 200 day moving average price is $202.88. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 18th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $276.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $222.94.

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.