SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC Makes New Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 721 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $204,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,795,262,000 after purchasing an additional 583,376 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,498,363,000 after buying an additional 189,638 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,843,045,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its holdings in Progressive by 13.0% in the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,480,677,000 after acquiring an additional 710,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Progressive by 34.3% in the 4th quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,451,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,547,677 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $279.19 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $163.67 billion, a PE ratio of 19.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $276.19 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $264.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

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

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total value of $2,685,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $479,391.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 26,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,546,174.02. This trade represents a 5.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 37,755 shares of company stock worth $10,367,074. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Bank of America upgraded shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays increased their price target on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $288.59.

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.