Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $283.28, but opened at $276.50. Progressive shares last traded at $272.08, with a volume of 679,646 shares traded.

Specifically, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $479,391.36. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 26,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,546,174.02. This represents a 5.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total value of $435,861.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,759,663.84. The trade was a 0.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Bank of America lowered their price target on Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $281.76.

Progressive Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $260.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $254.70. The firm has a market cap of $160.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $885,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 16.5% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its stake in Progressive by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp boosted its stake in Progressive by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.