Insider Selling: The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Insider Sells 7,696 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.21, for a total transaction of $1,964,096.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,876,384.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR traded down $2.13 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $257.11. The company had a trading volume of 751,205 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,520,715. The stock has a market cap of $150.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $137.59 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $234.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared 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 of this dividend 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 4.09%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. HSBC upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, August 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,751,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,703,318,000 after acquiring an additional 285,070 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.7% in the first quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,018,592,000 after acquiring an additional 670,006 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Progressive by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,922,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,022,507,000 after purchasing an additional 92,212 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,885,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $778,199,000 after buying an additional 19,724 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 2.5% during the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,577,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $569,861,000 after purchasing an additional 86,686 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.