Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Insider Karen Bailo Sells 8,452 Shares

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 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 transaction of $1,797,824.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,880,743.08. The trade was a 20.72% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock opened at $219.97 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $128.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $210.45 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.97. The Progressive Corporation has a 12-month low of $189.20 and a 12-month high of $254.93.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $250.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 price target on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. HSBC raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $221.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $205.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.11.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Allstate Corp raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 106.1% during the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,136,000 after buying an additional 22,915 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $8,447,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 1,807,068 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $411,506,000 after acquiring an additional 97,275 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van Cleef Asset Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Van Cleef Asset Management Inc now owns 761,587 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $173,429,000 after purchasing an additional 9,017 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Progressive

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

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.