The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and twelve have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $281.76.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PGR shares. Morgan Stanley raised 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James raised Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total value of $2,681,299.09. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,255,231.44. The trade was a 2.27 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $164,870.10. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 62,257 shares of company stock valued at $15,752,781 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised 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 valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $291.69 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $170.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.26, a PEG ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive has a twelve month low of $201.34 and a twelve month high of $292.99. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $259.18 and a 200 day moving average of $254.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. As a group, research analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.14%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

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.