Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Given New $218.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price lifted by UBS Group from $216.00 to $218.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Piper Sandler reaffirmed an overweight rating and issued a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of $211.88.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $209.12 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $122.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.84 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $198.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. Progressive has a 12 month low of $111.41 and a 12 month high of $212.24.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.65 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 11.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,078,831,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $840,885,000. Viking Global Investors LP boosted its holdings in Progressive by 412.0% in the fourth quarter. Viking Global Investors LP now owns 5,863,559 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $933,948,000 after acquiring an additional 4,718,237 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its position in Progressive by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 21,554,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,002,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666,449 shares during the period. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 25.4% in the 4th quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 6,721,345 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $871,826,000 after purchasing an additional 1,361,665 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.