Insider Selling: The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Insider Sells 3,191 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,191 shares of Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) at an average price of $249.24, resulting in a total transaction value of $795,324.84.
• The company's quarterly earnings report showed an EPS of $4.88, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.43, and its revenue increased by 12.1% year-over-year.
• Progressive recently announced a dividend of $0.10 per share, representing a yield of 0.15%, with a low dividend payout ratio of 2.25%.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,191 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $795,324.84. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 37,977 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,465,387.48. This represents a 7.75% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link.

Progressive Trading Down 0.3%

PGR traded down $0.68 on Friday, hitting $241.37. 916,247 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,270,034. The stock has a market capitalization of $141.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.37. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $208.13 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $260.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%. The firm's revenue was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $2.48 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 11th. Shareholders of record on Friday, July 4th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, July 3rd. This represents a yield of 15.0%. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PGR. State of Alaska Department of Revenue grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.7% in the first quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue now owns 68,644 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $19,426,000 after acquiring an additional 1,800 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 36.4% in the first quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 126,826 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,893,000 after buying an additional 33,864 shares in the last quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH raised its position in Progressive by 498.5% during the first quarter. MEAG MUNICH ERGO Kapitalanlagegesellschaft mbH now owns 5,057 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,431,000 after purchasing an additional 4,212 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $3,141,000. Finally, TCW Group Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 4.5% during the first quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 12,034 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,406,000 after purchasing an additional 523 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.88.

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.