Wells Fargo & Company Increases Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $247.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective boosted by stock analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $242.00 to $247.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 8.51% from the company’s previous close.

PGR has been the subject of several other reports. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $350.00 to $348.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Barclays reduced their price objective on Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, October 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $264.98.

Progressive Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of PGR traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $227.63. 40,977 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,262,240. Progressive has a 52 week low of $199.90 and a 52 week high of $292.99. The company’s 50 day moving average is $222.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $240.17. The company has a market capitalization of $133.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.47, a PEG ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick 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 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for 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 firm posted $3.58 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total transaction of $307,050.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,698 shares in the company, valued at $6,323,176.42. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481 in the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.4% during the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $147,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 13.4% during the second quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $90,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4.2% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 20.8% during the second 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 5.4% in the second quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $229,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.