Jonathan S. Bauer Sells 1,696 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $479,391.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 26,697 shares in the company, valued at $7,546,174.02. The trade was a 5.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock opened at $273.19 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $260.59 and its 200 day moving average is $254.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company has a market capitalization of $160.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on PGR. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Roth Mkm raised their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.76.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,843,045,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 67.6% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,171,501 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,239,143,000 after buying an additional 2,085,833 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 13.2% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Progressive by 34.3% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 6,058,187 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,451,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,547,677 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.