Janney Montgomery Scott LLC Has $13.49 Million Stock Holdings in The Progressive Corporation $PGR

Key Points

• Janney Montgomery Scott LLC reduced its stake in Progressive by 17.2% in the first quarter, selling 14,128 shares and ending with 68,068 shares valued at about $13.49 million.
• Progressive’s latest quarterly results beat earnings expectations, with EPS of $4.80 versus the $4.67 estimate, while revenue came in at $22.19 billion and was up 6.5% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious overall: the stock has a consensus rating of Hold with an average price target of $237.37, even as some firms adjusted targets and ratings recently.

Janney Montgomery Scott LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 17.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 68,068 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 14,128 shares during the quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC's holdings in Progressive were worth $13,494,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Bard Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Dagco Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 106.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, HHM Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 700.0% in the first quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 126 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Argus upgraded Progressive to a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Progressive from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Progressive from an "equal weight" rating to an "underweight" rating and set a $205.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Monday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and three have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $237.37.

Progressive Stock Up 3.0%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $224.95 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $263.83. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $202.90 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $206.65. The firm has a market cap of $131.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.44, a PEG ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 0.26.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The firm had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $4.37 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive's payout ratio is 2.03%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total transaction of $236,907.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,511 shares in the company, valued at $5,633,152.36. This trade represents a 4.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 41,290 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,258,000. The trade was a 12.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.

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