Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Hits New 1-Year High Following Analyst Upgrade

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday after Morgan Stanley raised their price target on the stock from $310.00 to $320.00. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Progressive traded as high as $282.60 and last traded at $281.81, with a volume of 3123694 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $276.31.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on PGR. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, April 17th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America raised shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.41.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total transaction of $2,685,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,024 shares in the company, valued at $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 4,669 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.70, for a total value of $1,305,919.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,191 shares in the company, valued at $4,248,922.70. This trade represents a 23.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 39,894 shares of company stock worth $11,020,097 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 114.0% in the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 210.0% in the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Down 1.5 %

The company’s 50-day moving average is $274.70 and its 200 day moving average is $258.93. The stock has a market capitalization of $162.61 billion, a PE ratio of 19.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.70%.

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.