Progressive Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NYSE:PGR)

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Investors bought 133,728 call options on the company. This is an increase of 5,873% compared to the typical volume of 2,239 call options.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR traded up $1.17 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $243.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,600,909 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,329,205. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $251.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $240.95. Progressive has a 12 month low of $164.16 and a 12 month high of $270.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 13.2 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.91%.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 20.9% in the 3rd quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Castleview Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $434,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank grew its position in Progressive by 4.6% during the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $260,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have weighed in on PGR. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $275.00.

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.