Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) gapped down prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $245.05, but opened at $238.42. Progressive shares last traded at $249.17, with a volume of 501,285 shares.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.29.

Progressive Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $247.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $244.27. The company has a market cap of $145.98 billion, a PE ratio of 17.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 34.32% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 52,506 shares of company stock valued at $13,031,159 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 13.2% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after acquiring an additional 1,682,213 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,205,266,000 after purchasing an additional 842,109 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 75.3% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,139,000 after buying an additional 641,943 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 29,701.6% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 596,331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $151,325,000 after buying an additional 594,330 shares during the period. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 206.8% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 875,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $222,207,000 after buying an additional 590,235 shares during the last quarter. 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.