Insider Selling: The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CAO Sells 360 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 21st. The stock was 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 trade represents a 35.47 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $274.57 on Wednesday. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $160.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $263.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $255.37.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on PGR. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, March 20th. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.06.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.