Aviance Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 17,543 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,628,000.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 143.6% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at about $35,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.9 %

NYSE:PGR traded up $1.95 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $209.66. 139,206 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,576,323. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $111.41 and a 12-month high of $217.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.26, a PEG ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $209.49 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.84.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. Progressive’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, June 26th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Progressive from $243.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Progressive from $230.00 to $232.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $216.81.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.43, for a total transaction of $2,546,584.51. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 312,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,978,003.94. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total value of $135,271.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $828,485.91. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 312,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,978,003.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 24,518 shares of company stock valued at $5,055,674. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Company 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.