Bank of America Raises Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $293.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price lifted by Bank of America from $276.00 to $293.00 in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Piper Sandler restated an overweight rating and issued a $240.00 price objective on shares of Progressive in a report on Monday, April 1st. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, March 25th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an overweight rating on the stock in a report on Monday, June 10th. Finally, Roth Mkm reiterated a buy rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $222.94.

Progressive Trading Down 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $219.35 on Wednesday. Progressive has a 1 year low of $118.75 and a 1 year high of $229.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $128.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.33 and a quick ratio of 0.32. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $209.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $199.19.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced 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. 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%. The business’s revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Progressive will post 11.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were given a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, July 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 650 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $208.11, for a total value of $135,271.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 3,981 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $828,485.91. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 35,647 shares of company stock valued at $7,417,765 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

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

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.