CENTRAL TRUST Co Buys 753 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

CENTRAL TRUST Co raised its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 6.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 13,108 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 753 shares during the period. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,498,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 7.4% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $545,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 13.4% during the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. True North Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,824 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total value of $2,017,201.34. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total transaction of $7,543,953.54. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,286 shares in the company, valued at $117,194,933.16. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 58,500 shares of company stock worth $14,430,089. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 1.0%

NYSE PGR opened at $219.73 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $128.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $199.90 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $232.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $251.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. BMO Capital Markets reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $269.90.

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.