Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Given New $331.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective boosted by Bank of America from $319.00 to $331.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on PGR. Citigroup dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Barclays began coverage on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price target on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.19.

Progressive Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $255.37 on Wednesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $247.56 and a 200 day moving average price of $223.57. The stock has a market cap of $149.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14, a P/E/G ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive has a 52-week low of $149.14 and a 52-week high of $260.46. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Progressive will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the company’s 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 $850,689.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,780 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,015,247.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the sale, the director now owns 13,723 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 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 $850,689.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 144,383 shares of company stock valued at $33,446,453. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Progressive by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 11.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares in the last quarter. Graypoint LLC grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after buying an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in Progressive by 0.3% in the 3rd quarter. Regent Peak Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 18,556 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,709,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.