Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) by 8.0% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 100,899 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,436 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $26,926,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of PGR. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 210.0% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd purchased a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth approximately $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $246.73 on Thursday. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $228.54 and a one year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $144.64 billion, a PE ratio of 13.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.32. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $245.31 and a 200 day moving average price of $261.43.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $265.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, September 22nd. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Bank of America increased their target price on Progressive from $343.00 to $350.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Progressive from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, September 18th. Finally, Barclays reduced their target price on Progressive from $287.00 to $281.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, August 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $279.63.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total value of $7,543,953.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 476,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $117,194,933.16. This trade represents a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $536,977.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 43,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,532,802.60. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 130,045 shares of company stock valued at $31,997,390. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company 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.