Roth Mkm Raises Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $315.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target lifted by Roth Mkm from $290.00 to $315.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. Roth Mkm currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, HSBC cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $277.59.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE PGR opened at $279.02 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.41 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $250.50. Progressive has a 12-month low of $186.94 and a 12-month high of $280.25. The firm has a market cap of $163.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.38, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. The trade was a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,361 shares of company stock worth $11,302,675. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.