Brokerages Set The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) PT at $211.88

Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) have received an average rating of “Hold” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have issued a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $211.88.

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America reduced their price objective on Progressive from $279.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Roth Mkm raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $228.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th.

Progressive Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $206.67 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.05 billion, a PE ratio of 21.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $202.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $178.44. Progressive has a 1 year low of $111.41 and a 1 year high of $216.21. 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 posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Progressive will post 11.34 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Transactions at Progressive

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 stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,859.14. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 39,139 shares of company stock valued at $7,458,139. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,466,781 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,197,629,000 after purchasing an additional 218,809 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew 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 worth $3,002,542,000 after purchasing an additional 2,666,449 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 14,935,652 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,378,951,000 after buying an additional 520,742 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 10.5% in the 3rd 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 buying an additional 655,706 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $1,078,831,000. 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.