Progressive Target of Unusually Large Options Trading (NYSE:PGR)

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) saw some unusual options trading on Wednesday. Stock traders acquired 133,728 call options on the stock. This represents an increase of 5,873% compared to the typical daily volume of 2,239 call options.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $243.45 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $142.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The business has a 50-day moving average of $251.48 and a 200-day moving average of $240.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $164.16 and a fifty-two week high of $270.62.

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, beating 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 business had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Progressive will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.91%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 32,919 shares of company stock worth $8,222,168. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter worth approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 114.1% during 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 last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Friedenthal Financial acquired a new stake in Progressive during the third quarter worth approximately $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Roth Mkm upped their price objective on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, December 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.00.

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.