Brokerages Set The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) PT at $276.12

Shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) have been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $276.12.

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. HSBC cut Progressive from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $267.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th.

Progressive Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of PGR stock traded down $1.68 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $265.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,567,348 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,505,890. 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 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. The company's fifty day moving average is $246.61 and its 200 day moving average is $248.49. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $186.94 and a fifty-two week high of $270.79.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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%. Research analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 10th. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The stock was 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 directly owns 292,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 56,361 shares of company stock worth $13,983,575 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% in 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.

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.