Merit Financial Group LLC Has $2.86 Million Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 10.8% during the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,087 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 987 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Finally, Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Progressive by 119.0% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total value of $479,391.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 26,697 shares in the company, valued at $7,546,174.02. This trade represents a 5.97% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,267 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.81, for a total transaction of $351,985.27. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 37,755 shares of company stock worth $10,367,074 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 price objective on shares of Progressive and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Barclays upped their target price on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a “market perform” rating and set a $288.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.59.

Progressive Stock Down 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $282.18 on Thursday. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $276.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $264.11. 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 company has a market cap of $165.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.60, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.70%.

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.