Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Insider John Jo Murphy Sells 2,218 Shares

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) insider John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $536,977.80. Following the sale, the insider owned 43,506 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,532,802.60. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

John Jo Murphy also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Friday, August 22nd, John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.78, for a total transaction of $556,230.04.
• On Monday, July 28th, John Jo Murphy sold 2,218 shares of Progressive stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $552,814.32.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $238.41 on Wednesday. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $228.54 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $139.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.43, a PEG ratio of 1.36 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $245.63 and a 200 day moving average price of $262.78. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The firm had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $2.48 earnings per share. Progressive’s revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Corporation will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 114.0% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 210.0% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP purchased a new position in Progressive in the first quarter worth approximately $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the first quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp purchased a new position in Progressive in the second quarter worth approximately $33,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Cantor Fitzgerald upgraded shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, August 29th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $347.00 to $343.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, September 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $279.31.

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.