Gateway Investment Advisers LLC Cuts Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Gateway Investment Advisers LLC decreased its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 25.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,588 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,566 shares during the quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,298,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sycomore Asset Management raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 42.8% during the 4th quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 51,770 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,066,000 after buying an additional 15,512 shares during the last quarter. Vivid Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $2,143,000. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.4% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 16,199 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,881,000 after buying an additional 527 shares during the last quarter. Allstate Corp acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $4,205,000. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,667,903 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $878,866,000 after buying an additional 111,659 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock opened at $279.19 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $276.19 and its 200-day moving average is $264.50. The company has a market cap of $163.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99.

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

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,267 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $277.81, for a total value of $351,985.27. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 28,888 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,025,375.28. This trade represents a 4.20% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total value of $2,753,700.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 238,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,544,668.88. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 37,755 shares of company stock worth $10,367,074 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. UBS Group lifted their price objective 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. lifted their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.59.

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.