The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CFO John P. Sauerland Sells 10,000 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $239.61 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $159.34 and a twelve month high of $270.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $251.85 and its 200 day moving average is $239.85. The company has a market cap of $140.37 billion, a PE ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.91%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.65.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter worth $36,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Progressive in the third quarter valued at $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently 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.