Insider Selling: The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Sells $208,330.00 in Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $214.69 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $111.41 and a twelve month high of $215.18. The firm has a market cap of $125.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.85 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $199.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.58.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The company had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. Progressive’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 11.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 4.09%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. HSBC lifted their price objective on Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. Piper Sandler reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $211.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Giverny Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in Progressive by 2.9% in the 3rd quarter. Giverny Capital Inc. now owns 501,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $69,849,000 after buying an additional 14,022 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 155,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $21,651,000 after purchasing an additional 7,268 shares during the last quarter. Invesco LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Invesco LLC now owns 3,537 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $563,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.1% during the 4th quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 168,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,788,000 after purchasing an additional 4,983 shares during the last quarter. Finally, First Affirmative Financial Network acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $295,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.