Sabal Trust CO Trims Stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR)

Sabal Trust CO cut its position in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 50.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,010 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,169 shares during the period. Sabal Trust CO’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,984,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new position in Progressive in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total transaction of $2,759,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,024 shares in the company, valued at $71,199,142.56. The trade was a 3.73% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,490 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $277.67, for a total value of $691,398.30. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 12,429 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,451,160.43. This trade represents a 16.69% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 42,705 shares of company stock worth $11,572,448. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 2.4%

NYSE PGR opened at $259.67 on Thursday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $274.56 and its two-hundred day moving average is $264.55. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $204.88 and a one year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The firm has a market cap of $152.22 billion, a PE ratio of 17.51, a P/E/G ratio of 1.64 and a beta of 0.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.10% and a return on equity of 33.50%. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Morgan Stanley set a $330.00 price target on Progressive and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 19th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $291.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 28th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.88.

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.