Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Raised to $320.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price boosted by Morgan Stanley from $310.00 to $320.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

PGR has been the topic of several other reports. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $288.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $287.41.

Progressive Trading Down 1.5 %

NYSE PGR opened at $277.38 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $162.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.26, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $274.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $258.93. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. Progressive has a 52 week low of $201.34 and a 52 week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The company had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Equities research analysts predict that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.70%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total value of $2,685,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 248,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total transaction of $110,016.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,370 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,084.80. The trade was a 4.56 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.0% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the 1st quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

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.