The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CAO Carl G. Joyce Sells 360 Shares

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Progressive Trading Up 0.4 %

NYSE PGR opened at $274.07 on Tuesday. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $201.34 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $262.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $255.19. The stock has a market cap of $160.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.06.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $54,000. 111 Capital bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $4,134,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 36.4% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 175,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,136,000 after acquiring an additional 46,915 shares during the last quarter. TFR Capital LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,712,000. Finally, Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $118,434,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.