The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Receives $274.65 Average Target Price from Brokerages

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $275.71.

PGR has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $246.78 on Monday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $247.01 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.75. The firm has a market cap of $144.57 billion, a PE ratio of 17.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. Progressive has a 12-month low of $176.37 and a 12-month high of $270.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 34.32%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Progressive will post 14.03 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the sale, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,645,222.40. This trade represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,652,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 21.6% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,205,266,000 after buying an additional 842,109 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 75.3% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,139,000 after buying an additional 641,943 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Progressive by 29,701.6% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 596,331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $151,325,000 after acquiring an additional 594,330 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 206.8% during the 3rd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 875,660 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $222,207,000 after acquiring an additional 590,235 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.