The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Shares Sold by Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.

Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. lowered its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 4.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 122,774 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 6,208 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $19,555,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 10.2% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $93,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 5,860 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $816,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.3% in the third quarter. Aaron Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 5,430 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $756,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Steward Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 20.3% in the third quarter. Steward Financial Group LLC now owns 421 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Chesley Taft & Associates LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Chesley Taft & Associates LLC now owns 18,960 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,641,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Up 0.3 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $206.82 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $111.41 and a 1-year high of $208.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.34. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $189.55 and a 200 day simple moving average of $167.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.53. Progressive had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 6.28%. The business had revenue of $16.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.52 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 9.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 12.92%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 price objective on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $144.00 to $176.00 in a research report on Monday, December 18th. HSBC boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 4th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $186.50.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 13,110 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total value of $2,127,228.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 465,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,570,485.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total transaction of $196,334.60. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,247 shares in the company, valued at $4,421,098.22. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 13,110 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total value of $2,127,228.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 465,737 shares in the company, valued at $75,570,485.62. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 58,949 shares of company stock valued at $10,671,740 in the last three months. Company 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.