Progressive (NYSE:PGR) CEO Susan Patricia Griffith Sells 37,338 Shares

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $7,942,165.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 522,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $111,199,682.96. This represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $219.97 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $210.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.97. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $189.20 and a 52 week high of $254.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.26.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,836,094,000. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in Progressive by 181.8% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,481,615,000 after buying an additional 4,197,212 shares in the last quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Progressive by 19,724.0% during the 1st quarter. Diamant Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,068,876 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $806,614,000 after buying an additional 4,048,351 shares in the last quarter. Life Cycle Investment Partners Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $353,906,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership raised its position in shares of Progressive by 193.2% during the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 2,206,742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $502,519,000 after buying an additional 1,454,111 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive News Roundup

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The insider transactions were scheduled in advance under Rule 10b5-1 plans, which generally reduces the likelihood that the sales reflect a current negative view of Progressive’s business or outlook.
• Neutral Sentiment: A Zacks analyst blog highlighted PGR alongside Intel and Dell. The item may increase visibility for Progressive, but the available report does not provide a specific new earnings estimate, recommendation, or fundamental catalyst. The Zacks Analyst Blog Highlights INTC, DELL and PGR
• Negative Sentiment: Progressive insiders collectively sold 56,156 shares for approximately $11.9 million. CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares, while Karen Bailo, Jonathan S. Bauer and John Jo Murphy sold 8,452, 2,242 and 8,124 shares, respectively. The sales reduced their individual holdings by roughly 6.7% to 20.7%, creating some near-term selling pressure and a potentially cautious signal despite the pre-arranged plans. Progressive CEO insider-sale filing

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. UBS Group raised their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 target price on Progressive in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $236.11.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.