The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CFO John P. Sauerland Sells 10,000 Shares

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total value of $2,753,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 238,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $65,544,668.88. This represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $277.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $162.39 billion, a PE ratio of 19.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The business’s fifty day moving average is $275.52 and its 200 day moving average is $263.38. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.70%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America upgraded Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Progressive from $324.00 to $328.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.59.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth $113,456,000. Intrua Financial LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 7.6% during the first quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 76 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 2.1% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $614,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 5.6% during the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 5,235 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,482,000 after buying an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, WBI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth $1,570,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.