The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Devin C. Johnson Sells 1,000 Shares

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink.

Progressive Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $214.69 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company has a market cap of $125.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.35. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $199.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.10. The Progressive Co. has a 1-year low of $111.41 and a 1-year high of $215.18.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 11.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. UBS Group boosted their price target on Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America dropped their target price on Progressive from $279.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. TD Cowen assumed coverage on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.88.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Sachetta LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Register Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at $35,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is 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.