The Progressive Co. (PGR) to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.10 on April 11th

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) announced a quarterly dividend on Monday, March 10th, RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a dividend of 0.10 per share by the insurance provider on Friday, April 11th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd.

Progressive has decreased its dividend payment by an average of 17.9% per year over the last three years. Progressive has a payout ratio of 2.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Progressive to earn $15.40 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $0.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 2.6%.

Progressive Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $283.44 on Tuesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $266.11 and a two-hundred day moving average of $256.15. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Progressive has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, equities analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total value of $2,759,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 258,024 shares in the company, valued at $71,199,142.56. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 66,255 shares of company stock valued at $17,250,271. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

An institutional investor recently raised its position in Progressive stock. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 15.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Brighton Jones LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $813,000 as of its most recent SEC filing. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their price objective on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.