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

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $479,391.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 26,697 shares in the company, valued at $7,546,174.02. This trade represents a 5.97 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $273.19 on Thursday. The Progressive Co. has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.97, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $260.59 and its 200-day moving average price is $254.70.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $4,134,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 36.4% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 175,853 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $42,136,000 after buying an additional 46,915 shares during the last quarter. TFR Capital LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $1,712,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $118,434,000. Finally, Employees Retirement System of Texas boosted its holdings in Progressive by 112.0% during the 4th quarter. Employees Retirement System of Texas now owns 34,541 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,276,000 after acquiring an additional 18,250 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 14th. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, 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 report on Monday, March 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.76.

Progressive Company Profile

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.