The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Jeffrey D. Kelly Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $2,500,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 27,741 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,935,250. This represents a 26.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $249.20 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a PEG ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $176.37 and a one year high of $270.62. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $247.67 and a 200 day simple moving average of $244.27. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 34.32%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.03 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. HSBC downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Six investment 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, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.29.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Davis Capital Management bought a new stake in Progressive in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.