Jeffrey D. Kelly Sells 10,000 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total value of $2,500,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 27,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,935,250. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $249.20 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $145.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $176.37 and a 12 month high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping 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, research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.03 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PGR. Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.29.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. NewEdge Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 20.6% in the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 30,429 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,320,000 after purchasing an additional 5,199 shares in the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. EP Wealth Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 19.8% during the 2nd quarter. EP Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,892 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $393,000 after acquiring an additional 313 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Truist Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 27.7% in the second quarter. Truist Financial Corp now owns 289,341 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,099,000 after purchasing an additional 62,693 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.