The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Insider Sells $952,416.30 in Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,645,222.40. This trade represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Progressive Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $246.78 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $247.40 and its 200-day moving average price is $244.30. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $176.37 and a 52-week high of $270.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $144.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 34.32% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.03 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,683,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,263,763,000 after acquiring an additional 315,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after buying an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,518,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,669,204,000 after buying an additional 170,618 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,286,036,000 after buying an additional 330,667 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 21.6% in the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,205,266,000 after acquiring an additional 842,109 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Progressive from $302.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.71.

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.