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

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.40, for a total transaction of $2,104,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares in the company, valued at $63,742,363.20. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock opened at $210.31 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $209.36 and a 200-day moving average of $194.64. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $111.41 and a 12 month high of $217.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, July 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the first quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 4,640 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $960,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. Balentine LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 22,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,530,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Compass Ion Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 7,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,186,000 after buying an additional 59 shares in the last quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 4.1% during the first quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,579 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $327,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the first quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 2,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $425,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. HSBC lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 10th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $235.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, June 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $216.81.

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.