Patrick K. Callahan Sells 7,696 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 7,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $3,876,384.69. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE PGR opened at $256.60 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $137.59 and a twelve month high of $260.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $150.29 billion, a PE ratio of 26.26, 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 stock’s 50 day moving average is $235.90 and its 200 day moving average is $218.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. Progressive’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. Research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 119.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Hilltop National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 126.0% during the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $257.18.

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.