Insider Selling: The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Sells 1,000 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Progressive Trading Up 2.4 %

PGR opened at $214.69 on Friday. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $111.41 and a 1-year high of $215.18. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $199.92 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.35. The stock has a market capitalization of $125.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 11.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $202.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Progressive from $279.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.88.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Giverny Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Giverny Capital Inc. now owns 501,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $69,849,000 after buying an additional 14,022 shares during the period. AIA Group Ltd grew its holdings in Progressive by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 155,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $21,651,000 after acquiring an additional 7,268 shares during the period. Invesco LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 3,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the period. Strs Ohio boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 168,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,788,000 after purchasing an additional 4,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $295,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.