Karen Bailo Sells 8,452 Shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Stock

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total value of $1,797,824.92. Following the sale, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,880,743.08. This trade represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing 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 Up 0.5%

PGR stock opened at $220.52 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $210.81 and its 200 day moving average is $206.02. The stock has a market cap of $128.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.26. The company has a current ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.27 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24. The Progressive Corporation has a 1-year low of $189.20 and a 1-year high of $254.93.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,584,067,000 after buying an additional 593,612 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,373,474,000 after buying an additional 78,374 shares during the period. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 8.9% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,398,123,000 after acquiring an additional 1,217,527 shares in the last quarter. GQG Partners LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.7% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 10,432,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,375,706,000 after acquiring an additional 1,092,151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $1,836,094,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley raised shares of Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $190.00 to $210.00 in a report on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $208.00 target price on Progressive in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Evercore set a $240.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Friday, July 10th. Weiss Ratings lowered Progressive from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 6th. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, June 30th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $236.11.

Key Stories Impacting Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The scheduled nature of the transactions reduces the likelihood that the sales signal a current deterioration in Progressive’s business outlook. Despite the sales, executives continue to hold substantial positions in the company.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly supportive. Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.11, above its recent trading level. UBS raised its target to $230, while Morgan Stanley upgraded the stock to “Equal Weight.”
• Neutral Sentiment: Progressive recently paid a quarterly dividend of $0.10 per share, equivalent to a $0.40 annualized payout and a roughly 0.2% yield. The dividend provides limited income support because of its small size.
• Neutral Sentiment: Institutional investors own approximately 85.34% of Progressive, and several smaller investment firms modestly increased their holdings. This indicates continued institutional participation but is not a major new catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: Progressive insiders reported significant selling. CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares for about $7.94 million; Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares; CIO Jonathan Bauer sold 2,242 shares; John Jo Murphy sold 8,124 shares; and CFO Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,499 shares for about $770,000. The sales reduce individual holdings by approximately 6.7% to 20.7% and could create a cautious near-term signal, even though they were planned in advance. Progressive CFO insider-sale filing

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.