Brokerages Set The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) Target Price at $257.18

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the nineteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $257.18.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on PGR shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Roth Mkm upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 16th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America boosted their price target 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, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, September 16th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,626,840. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 2,982 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.00, for a total transaction of $775,320.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 29,334 shares in the company, valued at $7,626,840. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 146,512 shares of company stock worth $33,912,874. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Northwest Bank & Trust Co acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC raised its holdings 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 worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at $32,000. Hilltop National Bank increased its position in 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Register Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at about $35,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $253.76 on Tuesday. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $137.59 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $238.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.31, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market cap of $148.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.72 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. Progressive’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Progressive will post 12.9 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

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.