Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Upgraded at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. UBS Group reduced their price target on Progressive from $226.00 to $218.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. Evercore set a $230.00 price objective on Progressive in a research report on Thursday, February 19th. Mizuho set a $240.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $205.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 28th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $244.71.

Progressive Stock Up 3.5%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $211.60 on Tuesday. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $197.92 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.29, a current ratio of 0.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $210.77 and its 200-day simple moving average is $225.62. The company has a market cap of $124.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.00, a PEG ratio of 8.94 and a beta of 0.32.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Stockholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.08%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,266 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.05, for a total value of $460,111.30. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 26,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,330,062.50. This represents a 7.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the sale, the insider owned 26,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,924,379.20. This trade represents a 4.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 9,103 shares of company stock worth $1,883,924 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its holdings in Progressive by 20.8% in the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 256 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Maia Wealth LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 5.4% in the second quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 1.6% in the second quarter. Trail Ridge Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,906 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $775,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 2.1% during the third quarter. Selective Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $538,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its stake in Progressive by 0.9% in the 2nd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 5,130 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,369,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

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.