Karen Bailo, the Commercial Lines President at Progressive Corp (NYSE:PGR), a prominent player in the insurance industry with a market capitalization of $139.8 billion, has recently sold shares in the company, according to a recent SEC filing. According to InvestingPro data, Progressive maintains strong financial health with a "GREAT" overall rating. On January 22, Bailo sold 2,120 shares at a price of $243.29 each, totaling approximately $515,774. This transaction was conducted under a 10b5-1 trading plan.
Additionally, on January 21, Bailo engaged in a transaction involving the disposition of 1,154 shares at $243.34 each, valued at $280,814. This was related to the vesting of restricted stock units, which were converted into common shares. Following these transactions, Bailo holds 32,345.317 shares directly.
In other recent news, Progressive Corp. reported a significant 18% increase in net premiums written, reaching $5.56 billion in November, and a 19% rise in net premiums earned to $6.04 billion. The company's net income also surged by 48% to $1.01 billion, with earnings per share (EPS) growing from $1.15 to $1.71. Notably, Progressive's combined ratio, a key profitability measure, improved from 91.1% to 85.6%.
In the wake of these developments, Raymond (NSE:RYMD) James upgraded Progressive's stock rating from Market Perform to Outperform, setting a price target of $305.00, based on the company's growth prospects. Meanwhile, BMO Capital maintained its Outperform rating on Progressive, albeit with a trimmed price target of $267.00, down from $273.00.
On a different note, insurance stocks, including Progressive, recently experienced a decline due to concerns over losses from the recent wildfires. J.P. Morgan analysts warned that the overall industry losses could surpass $20 billion, more than double the initial estimates. This has led to a reassessment of risk and potential liabilities for these companies.
In other company news, fellow insurance companies GEICO and Travelers (NYSE:TRV) faced fines totaling $11.3 million for inadequate cybersecurity measures. These are the latest developments in the insurance sector.
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