Investors Purchase Large Volume of Progressive Call Options (NYSE:PGR)

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Wednesday. Stock traders purchased 133,728 call options on the company. This is an increase of 5,873% compared to the average volume of 2,239 call options.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,555.95. This trade represents a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,683,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,263,763,000 after purchasing an additional 315,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 13.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,652,235,000 after buying an additional 1,682,213 shares during the period. FMR LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 1.6% in the third 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 in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 7.0% during 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 valued at $1,286,036,000 after acquiring an additional 330,667 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,922,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,022,507,000 after acquiring an additional 92,212 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock traded up $1.17 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $243.45. The company had a trading volume of 2,553,128 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,198,294. Progressive has a 1-year low of $164.16 and a 1-year high of $270.62. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $251.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $240.94. 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 firm has a market cap of $142.62 billion, a PE ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. On average, analysts expect that Progressive will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays dropped their target price on Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.00.

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.