Insider Selling: The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Insider Sells 2,982 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total value of $775,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,626,840. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Steven Broz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, August 19th, Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of Progressive stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total transaction of $1,439,833.18.

Progressive Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of PGR stock traded down $1.54 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $256.06. 543,912 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,520,181. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $137.59 and a 1 year high of $260.46. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company’s 50 day moving average is $234.97 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.84. The firm has a market cap of $149.97 billion, a PE ratio of 26.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.7 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of several research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $257.18.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 21.3% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its position in Progressive by 1.2% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $873,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, City State Bank grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.