MJP Associates Inc. ADV Acquires 712 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

MJP Associates Inc. ADV boosted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 18.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,488 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 712 shares during the quarter. MJP Associates Inc. ADV’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,075,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Finally, Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,891.35. The trade was a 35.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total value of $2,799,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 269,566 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $75,462,306.04. This trade represents a 3.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. UBS Group raised their target price on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. StockNews.com cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $287.65.

Progressive Trading Up 0.1%

PGR opened at $284.33 on Monday. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $166.68 billion, a PE ratio of 19.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average of $275.16 and a 200-day moving average of $260.46. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

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.