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 stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. This represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Progressive Stock Up 0.0 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $239.61 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $251.70 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $239.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $159.34 and a 12-month high of $270.62. The firm has a market cap of $140.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America raised their price target on Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.65.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at about $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 114.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Sachetta LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 34.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is 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.