Steven Broz Sells 1,157 Shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.76, for a total value of $236,907.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,511 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,633,152.36. The trade was a 4.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Steven Broz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, June 5th, Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of Progressive stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $231,400.00.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $220.66 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $201.02 and its 200-day moving average is $206.81. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $267.92. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The stock has a market cap of $128.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.61 and a beta of 0.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a net margin of 12.92% and a return on equity of 33.47%. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $4.37 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.91 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.03%.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $1,836,094,000. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Progressive by 78.9% during the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,384,082,000 after purchasing an additional 6,045,732 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in Progressive by 181.8% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,481,615,000 after purchasing an additional 4,197,212 shares during the period. Diamant Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 19,724.0% in the first quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,068,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $806,614,000 after purchasing an additional 4,048,351 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Progressive by 26.1% in the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,757,905,000 after purchasing an additional 2,314,864 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on PGR. Bank of America lowered their target price on Progressive from $331.00 to $313.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Progressive from $235.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Progressive from $208.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Progressive from $222.00 to $219.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, June 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $237.58.

Progressive Company Profile

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.