Progressive (NYSE:PGR) CEO Susan Patricia Griffith Sells 37,338 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $7,942,165.98. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 522,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $111,199,682.96. The trade was a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR traded up $4.21 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $219.97. 2,478,632 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,294,427. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $210.11 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $254.93.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, HSBC raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $236.11.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Bogart Wealth LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 235.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 700.0% in the 1st quarter. HHM Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 144 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acumen Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.