Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Reaches New 1-Year High at $214.02

Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $214.02 and last traded at $213.78, with a volume of 1021317 shares. The stock had previously closed at $209.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on PGR shares. HSBC increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $174.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $211.88.

Progressive Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $125.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a PEG ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $199.92 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $175.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The business had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.65 EPS. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 11.22 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,139 shares of company stock worth $7,458,139 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Progressive by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,466,781 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $8,197,629,000 after buying an additional 218,809 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 14.1% in 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. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 3.6% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,935,652 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,378,951,000 after purchasing an additional 520,742 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 4.3% during the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,754,850 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,291,249,000 after purchasing an additional 403,527 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Progressive by 10.5% in the third quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 6,916,460 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $963,463,000 after purchasing an additional 655,706 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.