Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Raised to $216.00 at The Goldman Sachs Group

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $161.00 to $216.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Progressive from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Progressive from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. Citigroup raised their price objective on Progressive from $192.00 to $202.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and raised their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $227.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $186.50.

Progressive Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PGR stock opened at $206.82 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. Progressive has a 52-week low of $111.41 and a 52-week high of $208.19. The company has a market capitalization of $121.13 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.34. The business’s fifty day moving average is $189.55 and its 200 day moving average is $167.28.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.53. Progressive had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 6.28%. The company had revenue of $16.89 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 9.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 12.92%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,210 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total transaction of $196,334.60. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,421,098.22. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 1,210 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total value of $196,334.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 27,247 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,421,098.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 58,949 shares of company stock worth $10,671,740 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Giverny Capital Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. Giverny Capital Inc. now owns 501,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $69,849,000 after purchasing an additional 14,022 shares during the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,263,862 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $176,056,000 after purchasing an additional 47,658 shares during the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd grew its stake in Progressive by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 155,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $21,651,000 after purchasing an additional 7,268 shares during the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $295,000. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS grew its stake in Progressive by 4.0% during the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 139,368 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,199,000 after purchasing an additional 5,403 shares during 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.