The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan S. Bauer Sells 1,227 Shares

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,227 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $281.00, for a total transaction of $344,787.00. Following the transaction, the executive now directly owns 28,393 shares in the company, valued at $7,978,433. This trade represents a 4.14 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded up $2.65 during trading on Monday, reaching $282.47. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,597,081 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,604,326. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $254.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $252.81. The stock has a market capitalization of $165.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $195.43 and a one year high of $287.49.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on PGR shares. Bank of America cut their price target on Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $276.59.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 98.2% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 789 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 391 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 90.9% in the third quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 7,813 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,983,000 after buying an additional 3,720 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 7.0% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,286,036,000 after acquiring an additional 330,667 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Progressive by 2,262.4% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 433,999 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $103,990,000 after acquiring an additional 415,628 shares during the period. Finally, Signal Advisors Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 42.3% during the 4th quarter. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC now owns 11,889 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,849,000 after acquiring an additional 3,534 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.