Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Shares Gap Down – Should You Sell?

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)’s share price gapped down before the market opened 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 trading hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on PGR. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Progressive from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, HSBC lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $274.65.

Progressive Stock Up 1.0 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock has a market cap of $145.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.99, a P/E/G ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.41. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $247.89 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $244.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 13.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.91%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 42,506 shares of company stock valued at $10,531,159 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance increased its position in Progressive by 168.9% during the 4th quarter. Cardinal Strategic Wealth Guidance now owns 2,555 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $612,000 after buying an additional 1,605 shares in the last quarter. New Republic Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 9.1% during the fourth quarter. New Republic Capital LLC now owns 1,034 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $248,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. JSF Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. JSF Financial LLC now owns 3,799 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $910,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Axecap Investments LLC grew its position in Progressive by 11.9% during the 4th quarter. Axecap Investments LLC now owns 9,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,003 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.