The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CFO Sells $2,753,700.00 in Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total value of $2,753,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 238,024 shares in the company, valued at $65,544,668.88. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded up $7.52 on Friday, reaching $284.82. 5,075,017 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,656,429. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company's 50 day moving average is $275.72 and its 200-day moving average is $263.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.97 billion, a PE ratio of 19.78, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $21.87 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive's payout ratio is presently 2.70%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PGR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Bank of America upgraded Progressive from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $312.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 28th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods restated a "market perform" rating and issued a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Wall Street Zen downgraded Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 21st. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $288.59.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $113,456,000. Intrua Financial LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 7.6% during the first quarter. Intrua Financial LLC now owns 1,075 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $304,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. Jacobi Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 2.1% during the first quarter. Jacobi Capital Management LLC now owns 2,170 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $614,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 5.6% during the first quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 5,235 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,482,000 after purchasing an additional 276 shares during the period. Finally, WBI Investments LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the first quarter worth about $1,570,000. 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.