John Jo Murphy Sells 2,218 Shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock

Key Points

• John Jo Murphy, an insider at Progressive Corporation, sold 2,218 shares of the company's stock for a total value of $536,977.80, reducing his ownership by 4.85% to 43,506 shares.
• Progressive reported a quarterly earnings per share (EPS) of $4.88, surpassing estimates, with total revenue of $20.08 billion, although below analyst expectations.
• The company has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, payable on October 10th, with a current payout ratio of 2.25%.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $536,977.80. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 43,506 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,532,802.60. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

John Jo Murphy also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 22nd, John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total value of $556,230.04.
• On Monday, July 28th, John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $552,814.32.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded down $1.08 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $241.26. 2,316,539 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,545,675. The Progressive Corporation has a 1 year low of $228.54 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The company has a market cap of $141.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.59, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $245.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $262.95.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.25%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America decreased their target price on Progressive from $347.00 to $343.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Evercore ISI downgraded Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Progressive in a research note on Monday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "equal weight" rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down from $327.00) on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $279.31.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 114.0% in the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $33,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.