Analysts Set The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Target Price at $251.29

Shares of The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-one brokerages that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have issued a hold rating and seven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $251.2941.

PGR has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Zacks Research cut Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report on Monday, January 26th. Mizuho set a $240.00 price target on Progressive in a research report on Wednesday, January 14th. HSBC cut Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $252.00 to $225.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group restated a “hold” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th.

Progressive Stock Down 2.5%

Shares of PGR stock opened at $202.41 on Friday. Progressive has a 12 month low of $197.92 and a 12 month high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $118.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.52, a P/E/G ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.33. The company has a current ratio of 0.38, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $217.20 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $229.21.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Investors of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.08%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 3,105 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.35, for a total transaction of $634,506.75. Following the sale, the executive directly owned 26,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,363,983.15. This trade represents a 10.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,788 shares of company stock worth $3,018,961. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Allstate Corp lifted its holdings in Progressive by 1,614.1% during the 3rd quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 21,598 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,334,000 after buying an additional 20,338 shares in the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 1.4% during the second quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 87,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $23,420,000 after acquiring an additional 1,192 shares during the period. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 91.7% during the third quarter. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC now owns 11,710 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,892,000 after acquiring an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 40.6% during the third quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 16,840 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $4,159,000 after acquiring an additional 4,865 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Arkadios Wealth Advisors boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 471.3% in the third quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 22,496 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $5,556,000 after purchasing an additional 18,558 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.