Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Raised to $300.00 at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price target hoisted by equities research analysts at Keefe, Bruyette & Woods from $294.00 to $300.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “outperform” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 9.81% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, March 13th. HSBC downgraded shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 20th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, March 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, December 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.06.

Progressive Stock Down 3.6 %

Shares of NYSE PGR opened at $273.19 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $160.14 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $260.59 and its 200 day simple moving average is $254.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 11,021 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $243.29, for a total transaction of $2,681,299.09. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at $115,255,231.44. This trade represents a 2.27 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $435,861.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 268,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $75,759,663.84. This represents a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 65,495 shares of company stock worth $16,668,034. Insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Kesler Norman & Wride LLC now owns 3,695 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its position 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 acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 16.5% in the third quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 296 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $76,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares during the period. Washington Trust Bank raised its stake in Progressive by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. Washington Trust Bank now owns 1,066 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $255,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SYM FINANCIAL Corp raised its stake in Progressive by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. SYM FINANCIAL Corp now owns 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $384,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. 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.