Bank of Montreal Can Buys 124,349 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 13.9% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,019,970 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 124,349 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned about 0.17% of Progressive worth $256,114,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Hilltop National Bank grew its stake in Progressive by 126.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 114.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.1 %

PGR opened at $265.89 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.25 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $232.11. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $149.14 and a 52 week high of $266.89. The company has a market capitalization of $155.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. Analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.17 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $269.81.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,475,967. This trade represents a 8.39 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at $7,626,840. This trade represents a 9.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 59,209 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,979 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.