Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Raised to $300.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective boosted by Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $300.00 in a research note released on Monday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $235.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Progressive from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $257.18.

Progressive Trading Down 1.0 %

NYSE:PGR opened at $255.17 on Monday. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $137.59 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market cap of $149.45 billion, a PE ratio of 26.12, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $233.24 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.58.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The company had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.57 EPS. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Progressive will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the sale, the insider now owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at $110,665,641.05. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 146,704 shares of company stock worth $33,367,408 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,751,851 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $10,703,318,000 after buying an additional 285,070 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.7% in the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,018,592,000 after acquiring an additional 670,006 shares during the last quarter. Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.9% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,922,743 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,022,507,000 after purchasing an additional 92,212 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 4,885,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $778,199,000 after acquiring an additional 19,724 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Baird Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,577,731 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $569,861,000 after purchasing an additional 86,686 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.