Insider Selling: Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Insider Sells $268,765.00 in Stock

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) insider Steven Broz sold 1,225 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.40, for a total value of $268,765.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 31,257 shares in the company, valued at $6,857,785.80. This represents a 3.77% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

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

• On Monday, June 22nd, Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of Progressive stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total value of $236,907.32.
• On Friday, June 5th, Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of Progressive stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $231,400.00.

Progressive Stock Up 1.6%

Shares of PGR traded up $3.51 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $222.79. 893,293 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,196,443. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $215.53 and its 200-day moving average is $206.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $249.83. The company has a market cap of $129.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.40 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $228.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $241.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. HSBC raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their target price on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.05.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its position in shares of Progressive by 23,059.4% during the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 199,767,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,639,163,000 after purchasing an additional 198,904,705 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth approximately $10,496,271,000. Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,682,342,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $1,836,094,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,538,570,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.