The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CFO Sells $2,759,400.00 in Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $71,199,142.56. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Progressive Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $3.59 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $280.70. 1,291,437 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,583,554. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $266.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $256.35. The stock has a market cap of $164.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on PGR shares. Roth Mkm increased their price target on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $281.06.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Progressive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 53,400,366 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $12,795,262,000 after purchasing an additional 583,376 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,683,807 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,263,763,000 after acquiring an additional 315,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,615,430 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,498,363,000 after purchasing an additional 189,638 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $1,843,045,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its position in Progressive by 13.0% during the 4th quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 6,179,529 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,480,677,000 after purchasing an additional 710,684 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.