Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Cut to $275.00 by Analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $303.00 to $275.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the company. Zacks Research lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Progressive in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Progressive from $301.38 to $300.60 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $260.27.

Progressive Trading Down 1.4%

PGR stock opened at $209.33 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $122.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 0.34. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $222.95 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $236.69. Progressive has a twelve month low of $199.90 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,354 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,924,379.20. This represents a 4.85% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,667,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,500,146,000 after purchasing an additional 151,240 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,373,474,000 after buying an additional 78,374 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 2.0% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,513,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,128,055,000 after buying an additional 301,371 shares during the period. Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Progressive by 78.9% in the third quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,384,082,000 after acquiring an additional 6,045,732 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after acquiring an additional 2,314,864 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.