Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Shares Gap Down to $139.57

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)’s share price gapped down prior to trading on Friday . The stock had previously closed at $139.57, but opened at $134.70. Progressive shares last traded at $136.41, with a volume of 609,727 shares.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PGR has been the topic of several analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their target price on Progressive from $198.00 to $206.00 in a report on Thursday, June 15th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $107.00 to $109.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and set a $146.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, July 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price objective on Progressive from $165.00 to $156.00 in a research report on Tuesday, July 18th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $141.57.

Progressive Stock Down 1.5 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.33, a current ratio of 0.33 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market cap of $80.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.20 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average of $129.30 and a 200 day moving average of $133.68.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 13th. The insurance provider reported $0.50 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.88 by ($0.38). Progressive had a return on equity of 12.02% and a net margin of 3.12%. The business had revenue of $15.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.24 billion. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.29%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, October 4th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.70%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In related news, Director Barbara R. Snyder sold 21,731 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total transaction of $2,892,178.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 6,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $879,724.90. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 12,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $131.81, for a total value of $1,581,720.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 321,507 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,377,837.67. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Barbara R. Snyder sold 21,731 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $133.09, for a total value of $2,892,178.79. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 6,610 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $879,724.90. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 62,801 shares of company stock valued at $8,203,964. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Venture Visionary Partners LLC increased its stake in Progressive by 0.8% in the first quarter. Venture Visionary Partners LLC now owns 9,426 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 76 shares during the period. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. WealthBridge Capital Management LLC now owns 8,192 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,084,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Arlington Partners LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 47.1% in the 1st quarter. Arlington Partners LLC now owns 256 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. PFS Investments Inc. boosted its position in Progressive by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. PFS Investments Inc. now owns 3,129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $406,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, IHT Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,662 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.66% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

The Progressive Corporation, an insurance holding company, provides personal and commercial auto, personal residential and commercial property, 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.