The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Barbara R. Snyder Sells 21,731 Shares

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Barbara R. Snyder sold 21,731 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total transaction of $2,892,178.79. Following the transaction, the director now owns 6,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $879,724.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $135.48 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.33 and a current ratio of 0.33. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $128.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $79.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.40, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 0.49. The Progressive Co. has a 52 week low of $110.04 and a 52 week high of $149.87.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 13th. The insurance provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.88 by ($0.38). Progressive had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 3.12%. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.24 billion. Equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 5th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, October 4th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.30%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 13.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Portside Wealth Group LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the second quarter valued at approximately $232,000. Western Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 4.5% in the second quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,808 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 7.2% in the second quarter. Strategy Asset Managers LLC now owns 5,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $728,000 after purchasing an additional 369 shares during the last quarter. Alamar Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 2.2% in the second quarter. Alamar Capital Management LLC now owns 25,141 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,328,000 after purchasing an additional 544 shares during the last quarter. Finally, ProVise Management Group LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the second quarter valued at approximately $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, August 28th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $140.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $198.00 to $206.00 in a research report on Thursday, June 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $165.00 to $156.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $125.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 17th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $141.57.

Progressive Company Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, 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.