Insider Selling: The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Insider Sells 8,922 Shares of Stock

Key Points

• Insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of Progressive at an average price of $249.24, reducing their ownership by 21.62% to 32,346 shares.
• Progressive recently announced a dividend of $0.10 per share, resulting in a yield of 0.15%, and a payout ratio of 2.25%.
• Analysts have set a consensus price target of $286.88 for Progressive, with ratings ranging from "buy" to "hold" from various research firms.

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total value of $2,223,719.28. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,346 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,061,917.04. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock traded down $0.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $241.37. 916,247 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,270,034. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $260.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $266.01. The firm has a market capitalization of $141.49 billion, a PE ratio of 13.60, a P/E/G 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 quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PGR has been the subject of several analyst reports. Barclays dropped their price objective on Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 7th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $328.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, June 20th. Wall Street Zen cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, July 18th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Progressive from $288.00 to $281.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 18th. Finally, Evercore ISI cut Progressive from an "outperform" rating to an "in-line" rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, July 17th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $286.88.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 210.0% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. HWG Holdings LP bought a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Garde Capital Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter valued at $33,000. 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.