Raymond James & Associates Buys 50,640 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Raymond James & Associates lifted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,093,153 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 50,640 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Progressive were worth $226,086,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,466,781 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,197,629,000 after buying an additional 218,809 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 14.1% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,554,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,002,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,666,449 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its position in shares of Progressive by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,935,652 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,378,951,000 after purchasing an additional 520,742 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp boosted its stake in Progressive by 10.5% in the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,916,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 655,706 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,078,831,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $2.04 during trading on Friday, reaching $208.03. 2,628,749 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,796,081. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $121.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.29, a P/E/G ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $111.41 and a 52-week high of $216.21. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $202.45 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.51.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The company’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 11.34 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 4.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. UBS Group boosted their price target on Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $211.88.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,859.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

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.