CENTRAL TRUST Co Acquires 238 Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 2.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 12,355 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 238 shares during the quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co’s holdings in Progressive were worth $3,496,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted 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 last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 119.0% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Rialto Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total transaction of $110,016.00. Following the sale, the director now 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares in the company, valued at approximately $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 34,517 shares of company stock worth $9,451,821. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. Bank of America upgraded Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. UBS Group raised their price target on Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 price target on Progressive and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays increased their target price on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $288.59.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $265.55 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $155.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $204.88 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $276.09 and its 200-day moving average price is $264.50.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS 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 analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.50% and a net margin of 11.10%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.