Mizuho Upgrades Progressive (NYSE:PGR) to Hold

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) was upgraded by Mizuho to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

PGR has been the subject of several other reports. Raymond James Financial lowered their price target on Progressive from $305.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 17th. Zacks Research lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their target price for the company from $261.00 to $232.00 in a research note on Friday, November 14th. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $276.00 to $245.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, October 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $264.92.

Progressive Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $7.69 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $224.12. 737,410 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,240,464. Progressive has a 52-week low of $199.90 and a 52-week high of $292.99. The company has a fifty day moving average of $223.74 and a 200-day moving average of $241.82. The company has a current ratio of 0.29, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19. The firm has a market capitalization of $131.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.05 and a beta of 0.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.04 by ($0.59). Progressive had a net margin of 12.57% and a return on equity of 33.88%. The company had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.58 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 6,420 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.22, for a total transaction of $1,555,052.40. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 15,192 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,679,806.24. This trade represents a 29.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 17,673 shares of company stock valued at $4,163,005 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. New York Life Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.4% in the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 87,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,420,000 after buying an additional 1,192 shares during the last quarter. Baron Silver Stevens Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $306,000. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP lifted its position in Progressive by 199.0% during the 2nd quarter. Wakefield Asset Management LLLP now owns 9,411 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,511,000 after acquiring an additional 6,263 shares in the last quarter. VIRGINIA RETIREMENT SYSTEMS ET Al acquired a new position in shares of Progressive in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $13,583,000. Finally, Whalen Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Progressive in the second quarter worth $647,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.