The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. lowered its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 19.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 343 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $297,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 119.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Hilltop National Bank boosted its stake in shares of 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 during the period. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,475,967. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock worth $33,367,408. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Roth Mkm boosted their price objective on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Barclays started coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 target price on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.18.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $259.23 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $137.59 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $234.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $217.06. The company has a market capitalization of $151.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

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.