The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Dyke Kahina Van Sells 2,180 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at $3,462,038.44. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Progressive Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $253.76 on Tuesday. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $137.59 and a 52-week high of $260.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The business has a fifty day moving average of $238.56 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.77. The stock has a market cap of $148.63 billion, a PE ratio of 25.97, a PEG ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for 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 company’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Aviance Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at about $3,628,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $3,090,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 66.4% during the first quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,409,000 after purchasing an additional 2,719 shares in the last quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 90.4% during the first quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 21,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,354,000 after purchasing an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Councilmark Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the first quarter valued at approximately $1,890,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. HSBC upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

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.