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

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $274.65.

Several equities analysts have issued reports on PGR shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Progressive from $299.00 to $302.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on Progressive from $295.00 to $294.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. HSBC lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total value of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 292,958 shares in the company, valued at $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 42,506 shares of company stock worth $10,531,159 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Davis Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 114.1% in the third quarter. DiNuzzo Private Wealth Inc. now owns 137 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Trading Down 0.4 %

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $238.58 on Monday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $248.27 and a 200-day simple moving average of $243.55. Progressive has a 12-month low of $175.50 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. The stock has a market cap of $139.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.34, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 0.41.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.17%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.91%.

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.