Insider Selling: The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CEO Sells $10,937,914.00 in Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Susan Patricia Griffith also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, July 22nd, Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of Progressive stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71.

Progressive Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of PGR opened at $248.69 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $145.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.45, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $134.34 and a 12-month high of $254.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $225.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $212.83.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 12.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $230.00 to $262.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $281.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.24.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 119.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 126.0% in the second quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.