Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Lowered to $346.00 at Bank of America

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price decreased by Bank of America from $351.00 to $346.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on PGR. Raymond James Financial cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $305.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald raised shares of Progressive to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 13th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Sunday, September 21st. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Zacks Research lowered shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, October 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $265.65.

Progressive Trading Down 0.8%

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $223.00 on Wednesday. Progressive has a 52-week low of $199.90 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $130.77 billion, a PE ratio of 12.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.19 and a beta of 0.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $229.78 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $249.23.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). The business had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 30,659 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $246.06, for a total transaction of $7,543,953.54. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 476,286 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $117,194,933.16. The trade was a 6.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total value of $1,555,052.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,806.24. This trade represents a 29.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 51,782 shares of company stock valued at $12,708,788 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Rise Advisors LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 7.4% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $545,000 after purchasing an additional 39 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares during the period. True North Advisors LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 4.0% during the 1st quarter. True North Advisors LLC now owns 1,055 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $299,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prosperity Consulting Group LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Prosperity Consulting Group LLC now owns 3,824 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,082,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. 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.