Raymond James Trust N.A. Boosts Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Raymond James Trust N.A. raised its position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 5.2% during the second quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 31,256 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,553 shares during the quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A.’s holdings in Progressive were worth $6,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter worth $32,000. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hilltop National Bank grew its position in shares of Progressive by 126.0% during the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR traded up $1.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $241.25. 1,544,660 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,539,333. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.69, a P/E/G ratio of 0.79 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $130.27 and a 1-year high of $241.43. The company has a 50-day moving average of $217.48 and a 200 day moving average of $208.55.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.16 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $110,665,641.05. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,457 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.43, for a total value of $2,546,584.51. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 312,958 shares in the company, valued at $63,978,003.94. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 116,441 shares of company stock worth $25,111,350 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have commented on PGR. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $230.00 to $262.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Progressive from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $262.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $234.41.

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.