Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Insider Sells $302,131.20 in Stock

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,924,379.20. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

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

• On Friday, November 21st, Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of Progressive stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05.
• On Tuesday, November 11th, Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of Progressive stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $295,900.00.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR traded up $2.34 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $226.62. 1,216,964 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,267,291. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.77 and its 200 day simple moving average is $240.54. The company has a market cap of $132.89 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.43, a PEG ratio of 1.26 and a beta of 0.36. The Progressive Corporation has a twelve month low of $199.90 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.19%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, December 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $301.00 to $303.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 9th. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Finally, Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $273.00 and set an “in-line” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $264.68.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,667,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $13,500,146,000 after acquiring an additional 151,240 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,373,474,000 after purchasing an additional 78,374 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,513,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,128,055,000 after purchasing an additional 301,371 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Progressive by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,384,082,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its stake in Progressive by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.