BMO Capital Markets Lowers Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $281.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price cut by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $288.00 to $281.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price indicates a potential upside of 13.90% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on the stock. Bank of America cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $337.00 to $336.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Progressive from $297.00 to $287.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 7th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, June 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $291.00 to $280.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 9th. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $287.63.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $246.71. The stock had a trading volume of 225,305 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,830,923. The stock has a market capitalization of $144.63 billion, a PE ratio of 13.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.53 and a beta of 0.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.34 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $268.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $265.68. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $208.13 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.43 by $0.45. The company had revenue of $20.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $20.39 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 12.66% and a return on equity of 35.37%. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $2.48 EPS. Analysts predict that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, Director Stuart B. Burgdoerfer sold 3,681 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total value of $958,642.83. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 12,217 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,181,673.31. This trade represents a 23.15% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.37, for a total transaction of $2,753,700.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 238,024 shares in the company, valued at $65,544,668.88. This trade represents a 4.03% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,705 shares of company stock valued at $11,450,948 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 1.0% during the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares in the last quarter. Rise Advisors LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 7.4% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Progressive by 3.0% during the first quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $549,000 after acquiring an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beacon Financial Group lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,036,000 after acquiring an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.