Insider Selling: The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Insider Sells 4,669 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $1,305,919.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,191 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $277.52 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $256.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.50. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $197.77 and a 52-week high of $287.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.69 billion, a PE ratio of 19.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Equitable Trust Co. bought a new position in Progressive in the third quarter worth $214,000. CWA Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth about $915,000. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,356 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $344,000 after acquiring an additional 354 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 30.8% during the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 57,131 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $14,498,000 after acquiring an additional 13,453 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.5% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 10,821 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,748,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the subject of a number of research reports. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America cut their target price on Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.59.

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.