The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CIO Sells $479,391.36 in Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total value of $479,391.36. Following the sale, the executive now owns 26,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,546,174.02. The trade was a 5.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Progressive Trading Up 0.4 %

PGR stock opened at $274.52 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $261.21 and a 200 day moving average price of $254.84. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $160.92 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. Analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have commented on PGR shares. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.06.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after buying an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its position in Progressive by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its position in Progressive by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.