Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Raised to $319.00 at Bank of America

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target lifted by Bank of America from $309.00 to $319.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They set an equal weight rating and a $367.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progressive has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $260.53.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $254.09 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $148.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.01, a PEG ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $245.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $222.71. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Progressive has a 12 month low of $142.87 and a 12 month high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Progressive will post 13.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 4.09%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $9,281,827.71. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 22,708 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $4,859,739.08. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 302,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $64,836,041.58. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,512 shares of company stock worth $33,912,874 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sunbelt Securities Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 11.8% during the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 10.4% during the 2nd 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 last quarter. Graypoint LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Finally, City State Bank grew its holdings in Progressive by 8.2% during the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.