The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan S. Bauer Sells 1,696 Shares

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $479,391.36. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 26,697 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,546,174.02. This represents a 5.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link.

Progressive Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of PGR opened at $282.64 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The Progressive Co. has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $259.99 and a 200-day moving average price of $254.57. The firm has a market cap of $165.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.63, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Progressive Co. 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, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays increased their price objective on Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 13th. Bank of America reduced their target price on Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. StockNews.com cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, HSBC lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $281.76.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.