The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CFO John P. Sauerland Sells 10,000 Shares

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,742,363.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Progressive Stock Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded up $1.75 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $209.46. 1,729,817 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,593,322. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $111.41 and a fifty-two week high of $217.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.84. The firm has a market cap of $122.68 billion, a PE ratio of 21.44, a P/E/G ratio of 0.80 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Progressive by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,751,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,703,318,000 after buying an additional 285,070 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Progressive by 14.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,554,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,002,542,000 after buying an additional 2,666,449 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Progressive by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,935,652 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,378,951,000 after buying an additional 520,742 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $1,078,831,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG increased its stake in Progressive by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 5,641,166 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $785,814,000 after buying an additional 156,332 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America raised their target price on Progressive from $279.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, May 16th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target 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.