Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other analysts also recently commented on PGR. Hsbc Global Res downgraded Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $300.00 to $287.00 in a research note on Friday. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $280.29.

Progressive Price Performance

NYSE:PGR opened at $257.27 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Progressive has a one year low of $201.34 and a one year high of $292.99. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $269.14 and a 200 day moving average price of $256.73. The stock has a market cap of $150.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.87, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 585 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $142,324.65. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,983 shares in the company, valued at $969,024.07. The trade was a 12.81 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. This represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 56,317 shares of company stock valued at $14,844,282. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth $49,000. Hilltop Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $580,000. IHT Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Progressive by 55.3% in the 3rd quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,740 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,204,000 after acquiring an additional 1,687 shares during the period. Morse Asset Management Inc acquired a new position in Progressive during the third quarter valued at approximately $55,000. Finally, Quarry LP increased its stake in Progressive by 112.2% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 643 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $163,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by 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.