Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Cut to $281.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target decreased by Barclays from $287.00 to $281.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an equal weight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on PGR. Evercore ISI cut shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to an “in-line” rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, August 13th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $312.00 target price for the company. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 17th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $284.53.

Progressive Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $250.6930 on Tuesday. Progressive has a 1 year low of $228.54 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The company has a market capitalization of $146.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.12, a PEG ratio of 1.46 and a beta of 0.33. The company’s fifty day moving average is $252.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $266.40.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $2.48 EPS. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.25%.

Insider Activity

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This trade represents a 6.81% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 8,063 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.18, for a total transaction of $2,017,201.34. Following the transaction, the insider owned 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,767,027.20. This trade represents a 17.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 112,313 shares of company stock worth $28,349,549 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth about $1,371,000. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.1% during the second quarter. Newbridge Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 1,310 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $349,000 after buying an additional 131 shares in the last quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 5.5% during the second quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 18,934 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,053,000 after buying an additional 982 shares in the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.5% during the second quarter. Asset Dedication LLC now owns 5,832 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,556,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 48.9% during the second quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 43,723 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,668,000 after buying an additional 14,361 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.