Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Given New $294.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price cut by Bank of America from $296.00 to $294.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on PGR. Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a research report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their target price on Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an overweight rating for the company in a research report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their target price on Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a neutral rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $234.41.

Progressive Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of PGR traded up $1.02 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $237.79. The company had a trading volume of 771,024 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,559,229. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $213.68 and a 200-day moving average price of $205.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $139.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.23, a P/E/G ratio of 0.78 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive has a 52-week low of $129.31 and a 52-week high of $238.45.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during 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 quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Progressive will post 12.02 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 3rd. 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 4.09%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In related news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total transaction of $135,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares in the company, valued at approximately $828,485.91. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,371 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 $9,281,827.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 517,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $110,665,641.05. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total value of $135,271.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $828,485.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 100,807 shares of company stock worth $21,412,417. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $1,078,831,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 237.8% during the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,485,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,650,000 after acquiring an additional 1,045,883 shares in the last quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter worth approximately $188,642,000. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 4,545.0% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $145,858,000 after acquiring an additional 690,060 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 548.2% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,866,000 after acquiring an additional 686,433 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.