Brokerages Set The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Target Price at $275.65

Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $275.00.

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. HSBC lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Friday, December 13th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 32,919 shares of company stock valued at $8,222,168 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Progressive in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Sachetta LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 34.0% during the second quarter. Sachetta LLC now owns 209 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $45,000 after buying an additional 53 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Friedenthal Financial purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $243.45 on Thursday. Progressive has a 1 year low of $164.16 and a 1 year high of $270.62. The business has a fifty day moving average of $251.47 and a 200 day moving average of $240.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $142.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. As a group, research analysts expect that Progressive will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.91%.

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.