Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Raised to $280.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective hoisted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $262.00 to $280.00 in a research report report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Finally, Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $257.18.

Progressive Trading Up 1.5 %

PGR opened at $259.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $137.59 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $151.82 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35. The company’s 50-day moving average is $234.16 and its 200 day moving average is $217.06.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Progressive will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $33,367,408. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 21.3% during the second quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 11.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 10.4% in the second quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the second quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, City State Bank boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 8.2% in the second quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 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.