Progressive (NYSE:PGR) PT Raised to $319.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price hoisted by Bank of America from $309.00 to $319.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

PGR has been the topic of several other research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $260.53.

Progressive Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded up $0.57 during trading on Thursday, reaching $252.35. 131,512 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,483,094. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $244.46 and a two-hundred day moving average of $222.14. Progressive has a 52-week low of $142.87 and a 52-week high of $260.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $147.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Progressive will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 3.42%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total transaction of $466,421.32. Following the transaction, the director now owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,383.92. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 146,512 shares of company stock worth $33,912,874. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Baird Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,577,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $569,861,000 after acquiring an additional 86,686 shares during the last quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 5.3% in the 4th quarter. Guardian Wealth Advisors LLC NC now owns 11,013 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,754,000 after acquiring an additional 559 shares during the last quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $949,000. Palestra Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 26.0% in the 4th quarter. Palestra Capital Management LLC now owns 842,147 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $134,137,000 after acquiring an additional 173,584 shares during the last quarter. Finally, United Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $1,084,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.