Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Sets New 1-Year High - Here's What Happened

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $284.69 and last traded at $283.68, with a volume of 105559 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $282.00.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PGR. Barclays increased their price objective on Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James raised Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, HSBC cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $277.59.

Progressive Trading Down 0.5 %

The company has a market cap of $165.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock's 50-day moving average is $252.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $252.11.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $279.94, for a total value of $2,799,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 269,566 shares of the company's stock, valued at $75,462,306.04. The trade was a 3.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible 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. Insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $14,102,075 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares during the period. 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.