Bank of America Cuts Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $318.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target cut by Bank of America from $333.00 to $318.00 in a research report released on Monday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Roth Mkm increased their target price on Progressive from $290.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on shares of Progressive from $261.00 to $264.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.59.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $277.52 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $162.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.27, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive has a 1-year low of $197.77 and a 1-year high of $287.49. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $256.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $253.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. Research analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.78%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, January 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total transaction of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 39,040 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,645,222.40. This trade represents a 8.99 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Andrew J. Quigg sold 681 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $164,870.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 33,612 shares in the company, valued at $8,137,465.20. This trade represents a 1.99 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 120 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.