The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan S. Bauer Sells 2,391 Shares

Key Points

• Jonathan S. Bauer, the CIO of The Progressive Corporation, sold 2,391 shares for approximately $595,932.84, resulting in an 8.22% decrease in his holdings.
• Progressive reported earnings of $4.88 per share, exceeding forecasts, despite revenues falling short of expectations at $20.08 billion for the quarter.
• The company declared a dividend of $0.10 per share, with a dividend yield of 0.15% and a payout ratio of 2.25%.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,391 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $595,932.84. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 26,698 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,654,209.52. This represents a 8.22% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Progressive Trading Down 0.3%

Progressive stock traded down $0.68 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $241.37. 916,247 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,270,034. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $260.94 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $266.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $208.13 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The firm has a market cap 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.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $2.48 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 15.6% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 457 shares in the last quarter. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Highview Capital Management LLC DE raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE now owns 11,040 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,645,000 after acquiring an additional 339 shares during the last quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 80.5% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 315,012 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $75,480,000 after acquiring an additional 140,514 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Summit Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. Summit Financial LLC now owns 4,672 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,119,000 after acquiring an additional 333 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PGR. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $268.00 and set a "market perform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Evercore ISI lowered Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price objective on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 21st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $286.88.

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.