Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Reaches New 52-Week High at $207.94

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) shares reached a new 52-week high during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $207.94 and last traded at $207.62, with a volume of 91268 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $206.15.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on PGR shares. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $144.00 to $176.00 in a report on Monday, December 18th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a “market perform” rating and a $174.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Progressive from $161.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Morgan Stanley upgraded Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $227.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. Finally, Roth Mkm lifted their price target on Progressive from $215.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $184.50.

Progressive Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $121.23 billion, a PE ratio of 31.43, a P/E/G ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.34. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $188.82 and its 200-day moving average is $167.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $16.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.10 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 21.25% and a net margin of 6.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.52 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 9.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be given a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.19%. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 12.92%.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total transaction of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Progressive news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 13,110 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $162.26, for a total transaction of $2,127,228.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 465,737 shares in the company, valued at $75,570,485.62. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 58,949 shares of company stock valued at $10,671,740. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Giverny Capital Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 2.9% in the third quarter. Giverny Capital Inc. now owns 501,431 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $69,849,000 after purchasing an additional 14,022 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in Progressive by 3.9% during the 3rd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 1,263,862 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $176,056,000 after acquiring an additional 47,658 shares in the last quarter. AIA Group Ltd raised its stake in Progressive by 4.9% during the third quarter. AIA Group Ltd now owns 155,427 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $21,651,000 after buying an additional 7,268 shares in the last quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network bought a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $295,000. Finally, DNB Asset Management AS increased its stake in Progressive by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 139,368 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,199,000 after purchasing an additional 5,403 shares during the last quarter. 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.