Ballentine Partners LLC Raises Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Ballentine Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 6.0% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 599 shares during the quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,172,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of PGR. Sachetta LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 143.6% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 1.2 %

PGR traded up $2.44 during trading on Monday, hitting $211.63. 253,215 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,562,188. The stock has a market capitalization of $123.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a PEG ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $111.41 and a 12-month high of $217.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $209.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $192.19.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.65 EPS. Analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.33 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of several research reports. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Piper Sandler reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. HSBC upped their price target on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Progressive from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $216.81.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.43, for a total value of $2,546,584.51. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 312,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,978,003.94. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total transaction of $208,330.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,494,976.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.43, for a total value of $2,546,584.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 312,958 shares in the company, valued at $63,978,003.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,468 shares of company stock valued at $4,415,753. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company 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.