Steven Broz Sells 1,157 Shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) insider Steven Broz sold 1,157 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total value of $231,400.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 28,668 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,733,600. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $199.80 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $116.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.16, a P/E/G ratio of 5.80 and a beta of 0.28. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.87 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $208.42. The Progressive Corporation has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $271.00.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. The business had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $23.51 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.47% and a net margin of 12.92%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $4.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that The Progressive Corporation will post 16.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.03%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Dagco Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Bogart Wealth LLC raised its position in Progressive by 235.1% in the 1st quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 106.6% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. now owns 126 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Finally, IFC & Insurance Marketing Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on PGR. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Argus upgraded Progressive to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Barclays set a $247.00 price target on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets restated a “market perform” rating and set a $220.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 31st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $238.11.

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.