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

Key Points

• John Jo Murphy, an insider at The Progressive Corporation, sold 2,218 shares at an average price of $249.24, totaling approximately $552,814. This sale decreased his ownership to 47,942 shares.
• The Progressive Corporation reported an earnings per share (EPS) of $4.88 for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $4.43, while year-over-year revenue grew by 12.1%.
• The company announced a $0.10 dividend representing a yield of 0.15%, with a low payout ratio of 2.25%, indicating a strong position to reward shareholders.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $552,814.32. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 47,942 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,949,064.08. This trade represents a 4.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link.

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

• On Friday, June 20th, John Jo Murphy sold 4,000 shares of Progressive stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.38, for a total value of $1,041,520.00.

Progressive Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $0.68 on Friday, hitting $241.37. 916,247 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,270,034. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $260.94 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $266.01. 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 one year low of $208.13 and a one year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on PGR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America decreased their price target on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $280.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.88.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,022,956 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $15,289,037,000 after purchasing an additional 622,590 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,498,363,000 after purchasing an additional 189,638 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 61.4% during the first quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 8,346,133 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,362,039,000 after purchasing an additional 3,174,632 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.2% during the first quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 8,263,157 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,338,556,000 after purchasing an additional 1,091,828 shares during the period. Finally, UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 6.6% during the first quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 6,380,134 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,805,642,000 after purchasing an additional 396,567 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

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.