Insider Selling: The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CAO Sells 191 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR traded down $2.67 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $239.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,126,756 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,226,707. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $251.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $240.50. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $162.35 and a 12 month high of $270.62. The stock has a market cap of $140.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. 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 issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Hsbc Global Res downgraded shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.00.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 20.9% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank raised its position in shares of Progressive by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $260,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 21.3% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.