John Sauerland Sells 5,000 Shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) CFO John Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $228.62 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.32. The stock has a market cap of $134.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.54, a PEG ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.29. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $226.85 and a 200 day simple moving average of $245.49. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $199.90 and a 52-week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. Analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. New York Life Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 1.4% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 87,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,420,000 after purchasing an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $306,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP grew its holdings in Progressive by 199.0% in the 2nd quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 9,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,511,000 after buying an additional 6,263 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al bought a new position in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth $13,583,000. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth $647,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. UBS Group decreased their price objective on Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on Progressive from $247.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, November 21st. Bank of America reduced their price target on Progressive from $351.00 to $346.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, November 19th. Finally, Evercore ISI lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “in-line” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $266.52.

About Progressive

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.