Smith Salley Wealth Management Boosts Stock Position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Smith Salley Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) by 20.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 7,760 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 1,337 shares during the period. Smith Salley Wealth Management's holdings in Progressive were worth $1,859,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total transaction of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock worth $8,222,168. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.7 %

PGR traded down $1.75 during trading on Friday, hitting $243.79. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,967,879 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,000,825. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.72, a PEG ratio of 0.61 and a beta of 0.41. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $166.92 and a twelve month high of $270.62. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $250.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $242.49. 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 Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays cut their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Evercore ISI lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $275.24.

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.