Susan Patricia Griffith Sells 9,066 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $242.13 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $251.46 and its 200 day moving average is $240.94. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $162.35 and a one year high of $270.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $141.84 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.91%.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Davis Capital Management purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Sachetta LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 34.0% during the 2nd quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $45,000 after purchasing an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new position in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Morgan Stanley reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $310.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $275.00.

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.