Insider Selling: The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 27,741 shares in the company, valued at $6,935,250. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR traded up $2.80 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $249.20. The stock had a trading volume of 2,355,573 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,619,900. 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 firm has a market cap of $145.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.41. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $176.37 and a 52 week high of $270.62. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $247.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $244.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its 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 net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 13.51 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. HSBC cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.29.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 20.9% in the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $384,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Castleview Partners LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.