Platform Technology Partners Takes $215,000 Position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Platform Technology Partners bought a new stake in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 758 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $215,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. HWG Holdings LP bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $32,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock opened at $244.77 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $271.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $143.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 0.37. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $208.13 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 33.50%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Stockholders of record on Friday, July 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.70%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total transaction of $1,041,520.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 41,289 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,750,829.82. This trade represents a 8.83% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,490 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.67, for a total transaction of $691,398.30. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,429 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,451,160.43. This represents a 16.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 42,705 shares of company stock worth $11,450,948. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, June 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Progressive from $288.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $285.41.

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.