Insider Selling: The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CIO Sells 1,696 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $479,391.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 26,697 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,546,174.02. This trade represents a 5.97 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR traded down $1.54 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $273.08. 7,280,100 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,433,405. 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 50-day moving average price of $261.96 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $255.01. The Progressive Co. has a 1 year low of $201.34 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $160.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive's payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Bank of America decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $281.06.

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.