Insider Selling: The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Insider Sells 2,981 Shares of Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink.

Steven Broz also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, September 23rd, Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of Progressive stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00.
• On Monday, August 19th, Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of Progressive stock. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total value of $1,439,833.18.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock traded down $0.84 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $247.41. 170,295 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,481,858. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $149.14 and a 12-month high of $260.46. The company has a market capitalization of $144.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.94, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $249.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.79. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.91%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4,545.0% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $145,858,000 after purchasing an additional 690,060 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its stake in Progressive by 548.2% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,866,000 after buying an additional 686,433 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its holdings in Progressive by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,018,592,000 after buying an additional 670,006 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 29,701.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 596,331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $151,325,000 after acquiring an additional 594,330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth about $116,852,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have weighed in on PGR. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $319.00 to $331.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 18th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $263.19.

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.