Progressive (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan Bauer Sells 2,242 Shares

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan Bauer sold 2,242 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $476,895.82. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,583,637.50. This represents a 7.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Progressive Trading Up 2.0%

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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.26. The Progressive Corporation has a one year low of $189.20 and a one year high of $254.93. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $210.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $205.97. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a current ratio of 0.32.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in Progressive by 106.1% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 44,513 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,136,000 after buying an additional 22,915 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,836,094,000. Investment House LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $8,447,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 5.7% during 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 holdings 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 acquiring an additional 9,017 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $250.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Tuesday, July 14th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Progressive from $217.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. UBS Group boosted their target price on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their target price on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Progressive from $205.00 to $198.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Five research 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’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.11.

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.