Wells Fargo & Company Boosts Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $320.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price lifted by Wells Fargo & Company from $317.00 to $320.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Wells Fargo & Company currently has an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also commented on PGR. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Progressive from $275.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 14th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Progressive from $273.00 to $267.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 16th. Raymond James upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $281.59.

Progressive Trading Up 1.1 %

Shares of PGR opened at $273.15 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $271.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $257.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $160.13 billion, a PE ratio of 18.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. Progressive has a 12-month low of $201.34 and a 12-month high of $292.99. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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, research analysts predict that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.15%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Devin C. Johnson sold 400 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $275.04, for a total value of $110,016.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,370 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,084.80. This trade represents a 4.56 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 1,542 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Monday, March 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $282.66, for a total transaction of $435,861.72. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 268,024 shares in the company, valued at $75,759,663.84. The trade was a 0.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 56,317 shares of company stock worth $14,844,282. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new position in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Progressive by 54.7% during the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% during the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 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.