Brokerages Set The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Price Target at $281.76

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) has received a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $281.06.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on PGR shares. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Bank of America reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $318.00 to $300.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Roth Mkm increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 1,696 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $479,391.36. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now owns 26,697 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,546,174.02. The trade was a 5.97 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares in the company, valued at $67,530,756.28. This represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 65,495 shares of company stock worth $16,668,034. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of PGR opened at $273.08 on Tuesday. Progressive has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.96, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $261.96 and a 200 day moving average price of $255.01. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

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.