American Trust Sells 930 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

American Trust trimmed its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,304 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 930 shares during the quarter. American Trust’s holdings in Progressive were worth $894,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 21.3% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank boosted its position in Progressive by 8.2% during the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at $3,462,038.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at $3,462,038.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,512 shares of company stock worth $33,912,874 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.2 %

NYSE PGR opened at $254.37 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $137.59 and a 1-year high of $260.46. The company has a market capitalization of $148.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.04, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $239.33 and its two-hundred day moving average is $220.12. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays initiated coverage on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 target price for the company. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

About Progressive

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.