Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Given New $280.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

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

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on PGR. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Progressive from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $253.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Six equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $257.18.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR stock opened at $259.24 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. Progressive has a 52-week low of $137.59 and a 52-week high of $260.46. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $234.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.25. The company has a market capitalization of $151.84 billion, a PE ratio of 26.53, a P/E/G ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35.

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

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders 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 of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 974 shares in the company, valued at $213,383.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $33,367,408. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Aviance Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $3,628,000. TCW Group Inc. acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,988,000. Brevan Howard Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $3,090,000. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 66.4% in the 1st quarter. Concurrent Investment Advisors LLC now owns 6,814 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,409,000 after buying an additional 2,719 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise grew its holdings in Progressive by 90.4% in the 1st quarter. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise now owns 21,056 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,354,000 after buying an additional 10,000 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.