Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Hits New 52-Week High After Analyst Upgrade

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Wednesday after Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on the stock from $313.00 to $317.00. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Progressive traded as high as $270.79 and last traded at $269.71, with a volume of 3164166 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $263.93.

PGR has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday. Raymond James raised shares of Progressive from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $305.00 price target on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $276.12.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at approximately $964,042.20. The trade was a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575. Insiders own 0.34% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 40 shares during the period. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake 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 buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in 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 buying an additional 41 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its stake in Progressive by 16.5% during the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $76,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Finally, Washington Trust Bank boosted its stake in Progressive by 4.1% during the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $255,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

Progressive Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $246.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $248.87. The company has a market capitalization of $155.82 billion, a PE ratio of 18.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.68 and a beta of 0.42.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts anticipate that The Progressive Co. will post 14.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.