Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Increased to $218.00 by Analysts at UBS Group

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price hoisted by UBS Group from $216.00 to $218.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on PGR. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, TD Cowen began coverage on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued a market perform rating and a $174.00 price target on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $211.88.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $214.69 on Wednesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $199.92 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The firm has a market cap of $125.74 billion, a PE ratio of 21.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive has a 1-year low of $111.41 and a 1-year high of $215.18.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.65 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Progressive will post 11.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,176 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,494,976.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,859.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.33, for a total value of $208,330.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,176 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,494,976.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Balentine LLC increased its position in Progressive by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Balentine LLC now owns 22,162 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,530,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC increased its position in Progressive by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Compass Ion Advisors LLC now owns 7,443 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,186,000 after buying an additional 59 shares during the last quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 10.2% during the third quarter. Cary Street Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 670 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $93,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 30.4% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $43,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Independent Advisor Alliance boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance now owns 3,438 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $548,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

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.