The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Receives $287.41 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) have received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $287.65.

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on PGR. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $310.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America raised shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total transaction of $1,305,919.30. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total transaction of $2,799,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 269,566 shares in the company, valued at approximately $75,462,306.04. This trade represents a 3.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 1.0% during the first quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 3,808 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,078,000 after acquiring an additional 36 shares during the last quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 3.0% in the 1st quarter. Pines Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,287 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $335,000 after buying an additional 37 shares during the last quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Contravisory Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $549,000 after buying an additional 38 shares during the last quarter. Beacon Financial Group grew its position in Progressive by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Beacon Financial Group now owns 3,659 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,036,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its position in Progressive by 2.1% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,927 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $545,000 after buying an additional 39 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Progressive stock opened at $283.38 on Wednesday. Progressive has a 52-week low of $201.34 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $166.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.68, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $275.17 and a 200-day simple moving average of $260.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.70%.

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.