Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Hits New 52-Week Low – Time to Sell?

Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $196.38 and last traded at $198.3070, with a volume of 489604 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $201.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts recently commented on PGR shares. Bank of America dropped their price target on Progressive from $305.00 to $295.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 25th. Zacks Research raised shares of Progressive from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $303.00 to $275.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Barclays set a $247.00 target price on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, William Blair cut Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $239.22.

Progressive Stock Down 1.8%

The firm has a market capitalization of $115.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.28, a P/E/G ratio of 5.74 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $205.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $218.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 2nd 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, April 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total value of $745,604.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,857,776. This represents a 9.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total value of $55,755.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 558 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,227. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 11,687 shares of company stock worth $2,413,044 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Stance Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 11.9% in the fourth quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 6,057 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 645 shares during the last quarter. World Investment Advisors increased its position in Progressive by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 10,609 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,416,000 after acquiring an additional 1,103 shares during the last quarter. Demming Financial Services Corp ADV bought a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $598,000. Meadowbrook Advisors Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $2,403,000. Finally, Larry Mathis Financial Planning LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $500,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

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.