The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.

Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc. cut its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 0.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 92,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 593 shares during the quarter. Progressive comprises approximately 1.5% of Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Deroy & Devereaux Private Investment Counsel Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $26,249,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Progressive by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.88.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,490 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.67, for a total value of $691,398.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 12,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,451,160.43. This represents a 16.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total transaction of $2,753,700.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 238,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $65,544,668.88. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,705 shares of company stock worth $11,450,948. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $260.30 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $274.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $265.18. 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 capitalization of $152.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.58 and a beta of 0.37. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $207.50 and a 52-week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 33.50%. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 11th. Investors of record on Friday, July 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.70%.

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.