Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Hits New 12-Month High Following Analyst Upgrade

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after UBS Group raised their price target on the stock from $275.00 to $285.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Progressive traded as high as $287.60 and last traded at $289.16, with a volume of 191491 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $283.69.

Several other brokerages have also recently issued reports on PGR. HSBC cut shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. StockNews.com lowered Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.76.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $67,530,756.28. The trade was a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, 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. Insiders have sold 62,257 shares of company stock valued at $15,752,781 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% during the 4th 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 acquired a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Price Performance

The company’s 50 day moving average price is $258.14 and its 200 day moving average price is $254.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $169.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.05, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business 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. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

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.