The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Insider Sells $952,416.30 in Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. The trade was a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Progressive Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $246.78 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $144.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $176.37 and a 52-week high of $270.62. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $247.01 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $244.75.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 34.32% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.03 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.71.

About Progressive

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.