Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Upgraded by Raymond James to “Outperform” Rating

Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $305.00 target price on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also commented on PGR. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $275.65.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $243.19 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $142.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.67, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $252.45 and its 200 day moving average is $238.66. Progressive has a 12 month low of $156.06 and a 12 month high of $270.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. Research analysts predict that Progressive will post 13.2 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 16th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 9th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 9th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 26,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Progressive by 1.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 24,683,807 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,263,763,000 after purchasing an additional 315,411 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 13.2% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,652,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 10,518,615 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,669,204,000 after buying an additional 170,618 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 7.0% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 5,067,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,286,036,000 after buying an additional 330,667 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake 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 buying an additional 92,212 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.