The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CEO Susan Patricia Griffith Sells 43,371 Shares

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR traded down $0.66 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $215.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,577,630 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,597,647. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $210.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $200.45. The firm has a market cap of $126.07 billion, a PE ratio of 22.18, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $121.87 and a one year high of $229.00.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 12.02 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 143.6% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 112 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 126.0% during the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $254.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.94.

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.