Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Raised to $280.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $262.00 to $280.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a buy rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on PGR. Hsbc Global Res raised shares of Progressive from a hold rating to a strong-buy rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $250.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, September 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $257.18.

Progressive Stock Performance

PGR opened at $259.23 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $151.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.53, a PEG ratio of 0.74 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive has a 1-year low of $137.59 and a 1-year high of $260.46. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $234.16 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $217.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.54 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.57 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Progressive will post 12.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 146,704 shares of company stock valued at $33,367,408 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sachetta LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Northwest Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in Progressive during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. WR Wealth Planners LLC increased its position in Progressive by 119.6% during the 2nd quarter. WR Wealth Planners LLC now owns 123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the period. Indiana Trust & Investment Management CO purchased a new position in Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Hilltop National Bank increased its position in Progressive by 126.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hilltop National Bank now owns 165 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 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.