Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC Sells 11,143 Shares of The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC lowered its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 68.4% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 5,158 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 11,143 shares during the quarter. Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,460,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Progressive by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 210.0% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,660 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.12, for a total transaction of $7,423,399.20. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 506,945 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,741,523.40. This represents a 5.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $2,223,719.28. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,061,917.04. This trade represents a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 139,010 shares of company stock worth $34,547,699 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $243.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $142.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The business’s 50-day moving average is $247.14 and its 200-day moving average is $265.25. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $228.54 and a 1 year high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The firm’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $2.48 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.25%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have commented on PGR shares. Citigroup reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, August 29th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised Progressive to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Progressive from $281.00 to $279.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 21st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.18.

About Progressive

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.