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

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total transaction of $2,759,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $71,199,142.56. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Progressive Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $284.16 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.73, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $266.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $256.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $885,000 after buying an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $76,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Washington Trust Bank boosted its holdings in Progressive by 4.1% in the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp grew its position in shares of Progressive by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have commented on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America lowered their price target on Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, March 22nd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.06.

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.