Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com lowered shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $280.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Barclays started coverage on Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 target price on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Progressive from $242.00 to $251.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $268.19.

Progressive Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of PGR opened at $255.37 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $149.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $149.14 and a fifty-two week high of $260.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $247.56 and a 200 day moving average of $223.57.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Progressive will post 13.07 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,015,247.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Progressive news, Director Dyke Kahina Van sold 2,180 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.28, for a total value of $549,970.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 13,723 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,462,038.44. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 3,975 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $850,689.75. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,780 shares in the company, valued at $7,015,247.80. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 144,383 shares of company stock worth $33,446,453 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Fisher Asset Management LLC grew its position in Progressive by 12.1% during the fourth quarter. Fisher Asset Management LLC now owns 9,920 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,580,000 after buying an additional 1,067 shares during the period. Moody National Bank Trust Division bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at $345,000. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV raised its holdings in Progressive by 4.3% in the 1st quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,765 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $365,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the period. Signal Advisors Wealth LLC bought a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter worth $528,000. Finally, Fulton Bank N.A. increased its position in Progressive by 5.3% in the first quarter. Fulton Bank N.A. now owns 5,518 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,141,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.