Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Given New $280.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $262.00 to $280.00 in a research note released on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on PGR. Barclays began coverage on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an equal weight rating and a $367.00 price objective for the company. HSBC raised Progressive from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $253.00 price target for the company in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Hsbc Global Res upgraded shares of Progressive from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $257.18.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR stock opened at $257.69 on Wednesday. Progressive has a 1 year low of $137.59 and a 1 year high of $260.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.93 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $232.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. Progressive’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Progressive will post 12.29 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $33,367,408. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Sachetta LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 119.6% in the second quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 126.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 92 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.