Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Insider Lori Niederst Sells 7,339 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) insider Lori Niederst sold 7,339 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.29, for a total value of $1,535,979.31. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 42,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,908,847.43. This represents a 14.71% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Progressive Trading Down 2.7%

PGR opened at $203.98 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $214.43 and its 200-day moving average is $206.43. The Progressive Corporation has a 52-week low of $189.20 and a 52-week high of $254.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.40 earnings per share. Analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.57 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Ruggaard & Associates LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth about $380,000. Equitable Holdings Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the second quarter worth about $918,000. Centaurus Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter valued at about $498,000. Coastal Bridge Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter valued at about $556,000. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter valued at approximately $3,060,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Mizuho set a $236.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 5th. Bank of America cut their price target on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. HSBC increased their price target on Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $233.16.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.