Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Reaches New 12-Month High at $214.02

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $279.00 to $273.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $241.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Progressive from $190.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have given a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $211.88.

Progressive Trading Up 2.2 %

The business’s 50-day moving average price is $199.28 and its 200-day moving average price is $174.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $125.54 billion, a PE ratio of 21.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.83 and a beta of 0.35. 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 issued its quarterly earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $0.74. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.88 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 29.43% and a net margin of 8.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.65 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 11.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 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 dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the transaction, 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 available at this link. In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Progressive by 109.1% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 108 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 143.6% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% 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, 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.