John P. Sauerland Sells 10,000 Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Stock

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total transaction of $2,759,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $71,199,142.56. This represents a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Progressive Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $281.38 on Thursday. The Progressive Co. has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $164.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.54, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $267.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $256.52.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.78%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Progressive from $294.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 20th. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, March 22nd. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.06.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marcum Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 13.5% in the first quarter. Marcum Wealth LLC now owns 53,920 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $15,260,000 after buying an additional 6,430 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its stake in Progressive by 119.0% during the 1st quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its stake in Progressive by 28.0% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 2,469 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $699,000 after acquiring an additional 540 shares during the period. Mascagni Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $54,000. Finally, 111 Capital bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth approximately $4,134,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.