The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CAO Carl G. Joyce Sells 360 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total value of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $180,891.35. This represents a 35.47 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $274.07 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.03, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $262.72 and a 200 day moving average of $255.19. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS 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, research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. LPL Financial LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 391,273 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $99,290,000 after purchasing an additional 66,628 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 92.8% in the third quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 39,098 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,225,000 after buying an additional 18,820 shares in the last quarter. Nwam LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the third quarter valued at approximately $929,000. Stonebrook Private Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the third quarter worth approximately $271,000. Finally, GenTrust LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $246,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Bank of America lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, March 20th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 20th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.06.

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.