The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $277.59.

PGR has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Roth Mkm raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Progressive from $277.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 38.7% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 631 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $160,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares in the last quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Progressive by 20.9% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $212,000. BLB&B Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 3rd quarter valued at $210,000. Finally, Private Advisor Group LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,958 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,034,000 after buying an additional 1,176 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 2.2 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $278.62 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $247.97 and a 200-day simple moving average of $250.14. The company has a market capitalization of $163.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. Progressive has a 1 year low of $186.94 and a 1 year high of $279.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 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.