Sowell Financial Services LLC Acquires Shares of 4,813 The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Sowell Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 4,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,362,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Progressive by 119.0% during the first quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $54,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total value of $2,759,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 258,024 shares in the company, valued at $71,199,142.56. This trade represents a 3.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares in the company, valued at $180,891.35. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 34,517 shares of company stock valued at $9,451,821. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $265.55 on Wednesday. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $204.88 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $276.09 and its two-hundred day moving average is $264.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $155.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.50% and a net margin of 11.10%. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PGR. Bank of America raised Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.59.

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.