Citigroup Raises Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $225.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price hoisted by Citigroup from $202.00 to $225.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

PGR has been the subject of several other research reports. Roth Mkm boosted their price target on shares of Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $171.00 to $202.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $159.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $238.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $211.88.

Progressive Price Performance

PGR opened at $209.12 on Monday. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $198.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $174.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.36. Progressive has a 52 week low of $111.41 and a 52 week high of $212.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $122.48 billion, a PE ratio of 21.40, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 0.35.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Friday, April 12th. The insurance provider reported $3.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.20 by $0.74. Progressive had a net margin of 8.89% and a return on equity of 29.43%. The firm had revenue of $18.96 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.88 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.65 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 10.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 4.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sachetta LLC bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co bought a new position in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 109.1% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 207 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 108 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its stake in Progressive by 143.6% in the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 190 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Progressive in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

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.