Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Raised to $201.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $198.00 to $201.00 in a research report report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an underweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on PGR. Morgan Stanley raised Progressive from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the company from $190.00 to $210.00 in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Bank of America cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $308.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 16th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, August 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $230.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating and set a $228.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $236.05.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4%

PGR opened at $219.45 on Thursday. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $189.20 and a fifty-two week high of $252.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $127.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company’s 50-day moving average is $215.53 and its 200 day moving average is $206.64.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 15th. The insurance provider reported $5.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.64 by $1.03. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The firm had revenue of $23.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.49 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $5.40 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Progressive will post 17.71 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 9th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.01%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 37,338 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $7,942,165.98. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 522,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $111,199,682.96. This represents a 6.67% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,452 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.71, for a total transaction of $1,797,824.92. Following the transaction, the insider owned 32,348 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,880,743.08. This represents a 20.72% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 82,224 shares of company stock valued at $17,416,438. 0.32% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Brighton Jones LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after acquiring an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 7.8% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 12.0% in the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.