Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Cut to $294.00 by Analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) had its price objective lowered by Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $295.00 to $294.00 in a research note published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has an outperform rating on the insurance provider's stock.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on PGR. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $275.24.

Progressive Stock Down 3.3 %

Shares of NYSE PGR traded down $8.02 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $235.57. The company had a trading volume of 3,692,238 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,536,604. The company has a market capitalization of $138.00 billion, a PE ratio of 17.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Progressive has a 1-year low of $164.98 and a 1-year high of $270.62. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $251.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $241.14.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, January 10th. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 2.91%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This trade represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. The trade was a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 32,919 shares of company stock worth $8,222,168 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Davis Capital Management acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $25,000. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 114.1% during the 3rd quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Kimelman & Baird LLC acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Friedenthal Financial acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Point72 Asia Singapore Pte. Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $49,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.