The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) to Issue $0.10 Quarterly Dividend

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) declared a quarterly dividend on Monday, August 5th, Wall Street Journal reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of 0.10 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, October 11th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd.

Progressive has a dividend payout ratio of 3.2% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Progressive to earn $12.66 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 3.2%.

Progressive Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $214.01 on Wednesday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $211.61 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $203.71. The firm has a market cap of $125.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.90, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a current ratio of 0.33. Progressive has a 52-week low of $124.06 and a 52-week 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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Progressive will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on PGR. Roth Mkm restated a “buy” rating and issued a $235.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 7,361 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $207.25, for a total transaction of $1,525,567.25. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 35,503 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,357,996.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 108,168 shares of company stock valued at $22,937,984 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% 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.