Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Raises Stock Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.3% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 80,232 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,326 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $19,225,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. GoalVest Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $1,225,000. Kelleher Financial Advisors raised its position in Progressive by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Kelleher Financial Advisors now owns 995 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $238,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Marino Stram & Associates LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Marino Stram & Associates LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,007,000 after acquiring an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Park Place Capital Corp grew its position in shares of Progressive by 23.5% during the 4th quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 5,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after acquiring an additional 1,107 shares during the period. Finally, Albion Financial Group UT increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 5.3% during the 4th quarter. Albion Financial Group UT now owns 1,137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $272,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $238.58 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $248.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $243.31. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $175.50 and a twelve month high of $270.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $139.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.34, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 42,506 shares of company stock worth $10,531,159 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on Progressive from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $274.65.

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.