Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. Buys 444 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. grew its stake in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 20.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,622 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 444 shares during the period. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $542,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Financial Management Professionals Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 69.9% in the first quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. now owns 231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 95 shares during the period. Capital Insight Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Capital Insight Partners LLC now owns 18,575 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,842,000 after purchasing an additional 510 shares during the period. Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% during the first quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 154,176 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $31,881,000 after buying an additional 507 shares during the period. Finally, Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in Progressive in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $207.71 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $209.49 and its 200-day moving average price is $193.41. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $111.41 and a 1-year high of $217.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.66 billion, a PE ratio of 21.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.32 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, July 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PGR. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $216.81.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,808,963.93. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total transaction of $135,271.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $828,485.91. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,808,963.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 24,518 shares of company stock valued at $5,055,674. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.