Insider Selling: Progressive (NYSE:PGR) CIO Sells 2,266 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total transaction of $460,111.30. Following the transaction, the executive owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at $5,330,062.50. This represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Progressive Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of PGR traded up $2.11 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $205.80. The stock had a trading volume of 2,071,706 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,708,512. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $197.92 and a 1-year high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $120.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.92 and a beta of 0.32. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $212.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $226.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23, a current ratio of 0.38 and a quick ratio of 0.29.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.08%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have commented on PGR shares. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday. William Blair downgraded shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 18th. Barclays upgraded shares of Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $257.00 to $265.00 in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group cut their price target on Progressive from $226.00 to $218.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.71.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,584,067,000 after acquiring an additional 593,612 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its position in Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,373,474,000 after purchasing an additional 78,374 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,513,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,128,055,000 after purchasing an additional 301,371 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Progressive by 8.9% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,398,123,000 after purchasing an additional 1,217,527 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.