Bank of America Downgrades Progressive (NYSE:PGR) to Neutral

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at Bank of America from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $287.00 price objective on the insurance provider's stock, down from their previous price objective of $300.00. Bank of America's price target suggests a potential upside of 6.26% from the stock's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 13th. StockNews.com raised Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Saturday, March 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $281.41.

Remove Ads

Progressive Stock Up 3.7 %

NYSE:PGR traded up $9.72 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $270.10. The stock had a trading volume of 2,573,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,639,469. Progressive has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $269.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $256.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a market capitalization of $158.34 billion, a PE ratio of 18.81, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 962 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $234,044.98. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 34,787 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,463,329.23. This trade represents a 2.69 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC raised its position in Progressive by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $885,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the last quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Baker Tilly Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,142 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $323,000 after purchasing an additional 40 shares in the last quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. LRI Investments LLC lifted its stake in Progressive by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $76,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Washington Trust Bank grew its holdings in Progressive by 4.1% during the 4th quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $255,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company's stock.

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.