Insider Selling: Progressive (NYSE:PGR) CEO Sells $8,195,691.00 in Stock

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.50, for a total value of $8,195,691.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 485,438 shares in the company, valued at approximately $106,553,641. The trade was a 7.14% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Susan Patricia Griffith also recently made the following trade(s):

• On Monday, July 27th, Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of Progressive stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $7,942,165.98.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR stock traded up $0.67 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $221.21. The company had a trading volume of 748,237 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,128,232. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $217.50 and its two-hundred day moving average is $207.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $128.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Progressive Corporation has a 52 week low of $189.20 and a 52 week high of $249.83.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.64 by $1.03. The business had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.84% and a return on equity of 32.92%. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.40 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that The Progressive Corporation will post 17.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on PGR. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Progressive from $198.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 20th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Progressive from a “hold (c)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Friday. Roth Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $245.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Bank of America cut their target price on Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $225.00 to $234.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Seven investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.26.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,000. Bard Associates Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Finally, Kilter Group LLC purchased a new position in Progressive in the 2nd quarter worth about $27,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Progressive Company Profile

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.