Insider Selling: Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Insider Sells $250,255.25 in Stock

Key Points

• Progressive insider Steven Broz sold 1,225 shares for approximately $250,255 at an average price of $204.29 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan, reducing his holdings by 3.92% to 30,032 shares.
• Progressive shares traded around $207.54, while the insurer reported quarterly EPS of $5.67 and revenue of $23.61 billion, surpassing analyst estimates. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share.
• Analysts maintain a consensus “Hold” rating with an average price target of $234.89; institutional investors own approximately 85.34% of the company.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) insider Steven Broz sold 1,225 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.29, for a total value of $250,255.25. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 30,032 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,135,237.28. The trade was a 3.92% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Steven Broz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Thursday, August 20th, Steven Broz sold 1,225 shares of Progressive stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.40, for a total transaction of $268,765.00.

Progressive Trading Up 1.0%

PGR stock traded up $2.04 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $207.54. The company had a trading volume of 610,275 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,093,817. The company has a market capitalization of $120.66 billion, a PE ratio of 10.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.27. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $214.29 and a 200 day moving average of $208.37. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $248.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The business had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. Progressive's revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.01%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the second quarter worth about $10,496,271,000. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Progressive by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 26,526,959 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $5,794,814,000 after buying an additional 656,249 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Progressive by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,398,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,527 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in Progressive in the second quarter worth approximately $2,682,342,000. Finally, GQG Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the second quarter valued at $1,538,570,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, September 18th. Raymond James Financial restated an "outperform" rating and set a $245.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, September 21st. William Blair reissued a "market perform" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, July 15th. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and upped their price target for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reiterated a "hold" rating and set a $228.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $234.89.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation, founded in 1937 and headquartered in Mayfield Village, Ohio, is an insurance company that primarily serves customers in the United States. The company is best known for its personal and commercial auto insurance businesses and distributes products through independent agents, direct channels and digital platforms.

Progressive offers a broad range of insurance products, including coverage for automobiles, motorcycles, boats, recreational vehicles, homes and renters.

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