B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG Buys New Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

B. Metzler seel. Sohn & Co. Holding AG purchased a new stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 35,211 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,935,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Seven Eight Capital LP acquired a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth $568,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 19.8% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 14,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,090,000 after acquiring an additional 2,467 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $76,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Wellington Wealth Strategies LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $297,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 13,723 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,462,038.44. The trade was a 13.71 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were 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 owns 473,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. This represents a 8.39 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 59,209 shares of company stock valued at $14,975,979. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on PGR. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays increased their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $277.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America raised their price objective on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $269.81.

Progressive Stock Up 1.0 %

PGR stock traded up $2.48 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $256.99. The stock had a trading volume of 1,638,438 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,453,636. The firm has a market cap of $150.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.71 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $149.14 and a 52-week high of $263.85. The business has a 50-day moving average of $252.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.94.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.95 billion. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.09 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.