Insider Selling: Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Insider Sells 7,339 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) insider Lori Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total value of $1,535,979.31. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 42,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. This trade represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Progressive Stock Down 2.7%

Progressive stock traded down $5.67 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $203.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,331,782 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,193,365. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $214.36 and its 200 day moving average is $206.46. The company has a market cap of $118.56 billion, a PE ratio of 10.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $254.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.57 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in Progressive by 235.1% during the first quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the second quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on PGR. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, August 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $220.00 to $200.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, HSBC increased their price objective on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $233.16.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.