Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Raised to $245.00 at Jefferies Financial Group

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price lifted by Jefferies Financial Group from $241.00 to $245.00 in a report released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on PGR. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a market perform rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Hold and an average price target of $208.31.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $206.59 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $197.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $173.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.15, a PEG ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive has a 52 week low of $111.41 and a 52 week high of $212.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 10.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 551 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total value of $93,251.24. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,921 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,725,350.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 5,939 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total value of $1,005,116.36. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 465,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,821,329.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 551 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.24, for a total transaction of $93,251.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 27,921 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,725,350.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,629 shares of company stock valued at $8,348,176 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Markel Corp increased its position in Progressive by 4.1% in the 1st quarter. Markel Corp now owns 750,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $85,578,000 after purchasing an additional 29,750 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 0.8% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 49,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,595,000 after buying an additional 381 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 3.9% during the first quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $763,000 after acquiring an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 8.0% in the first quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,081 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $351,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Progressive by 103.5% in the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $800,000 after acquiring an additional 3,571 shares in 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.