Analysts Set The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) PT at $269.81

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $270.69.

PGR has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 18th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $247.30 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $254.52 and its 200 day moving average is $235.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. Progressive has a 52 week low of $149.14 and a 52 week high of $270.62. The stock has a market cap of $144.87 billion, a PE ratio of 17.97, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. Research analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 9th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 2.91%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total transaction of $549,970.40. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,462,038.44. This trade represents a 13.71 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 25,839 shares of company stock valued at $6,718,965 in the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 20.9% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 16.5% during the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Castleview Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Castleview Partners LLC now owns 1,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $434,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.6% in the 3rd quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,024 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $260,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 21.3% in the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.