Montecito Bank & Trust Makes New Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Montecito Bank & Trust bought a new stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 835 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $236,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its stake in Progressive by 119.0% in the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,000 after buying an additional 75 shares during the period. Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $43,000. Finally, Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Down 0.5%

Progressive stock opened at $266.46 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $156.20 billion, a PE ratio of 18.50, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $204.62 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $276.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $264.50. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.87 billion. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total transaction of $110,016.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,084.80. This trade represents a 4.56% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the business’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 sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 34,517 shares of company stock worth $9,451,821 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America upgraded Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reaffirmed a “market perform” rating and issued a $288.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently 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.