Fortis Capital Management LLC Sells 13,511 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Fortis Capital Management LLC trimmed its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 76.7% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,103 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 13,511 shares during the period. Fortis Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $813,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 235.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 700.0% in the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Mizuho boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.05.

Progressive Trading Down 3.0%

NYSE PGR opened at $205.78 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $120.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.32, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.26. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $206.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $254.93.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total transaction of $236,907.32. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,633,152.36. This represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total transaction of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 15,230 shares of company stock valued at $3,165,817 in the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.