The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock Position Lessened by Independence Bank of Kentucky

Independence Bank of Kentucky decreased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 28.6% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 125 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 50 shares during the quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky’s holdings in Progressive were worth $35,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,795,262,000 after purchasing an additional 583,376 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,498,363,000 after purchasing an additional 189,638 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $1,843,045,000. Northern Trust Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 13.0% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,480,677,000 after buying an additional 710,684 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,451,602,000 after buying an additional 1,547,677 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,891.35. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total value of $479,391.36. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 26,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,546,174.02. This trade represents a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 37,755 shares of company stock valued at $10,367,074. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $279.19 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $276.19 and a 200 day moving average price of $264.50. The company has a market cap of $163.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.39, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wall Street Zen lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 price objective on Progressive and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $288.59.

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.