Trust Co. of Vermont Acquires Shares of 2,501 The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Trust Co. of Vermont acquired a new position in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $546,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 235.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 700.0% during the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $206.98 on Wednesday. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $189.20 and a twelve month high of $254.93. The firm has a market cap of $120.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.27. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $214.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.40 EPS. Analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.57 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price objective on Progressive in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Bank of America cut their price objective on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 target price on Progressive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $233.16.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,797,824.92. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total transaction of $1,535,979.31. Following the transaction, the insider owned 42,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 82,224 shares of company stock worth $17,416,438 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.