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

Meridian Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 7,833 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,988,000.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in Progressive during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in Progressive by 119.6% during the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the period. Hilltop National Bank increased its position in Progressive by 126.0% during the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 114.1% during the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the period. Finally, LRI Investments LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth approximately $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,475,967. This represents a 8.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 59,209 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,979 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Progressive Stock Up 1.0 %

PGR opened at $266.04 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average is $253.06 and its two-hundred day moving average is $231.52. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $155.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.33, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.36. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $149.14 and a one year high of $266.18.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $269.81.

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.