Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Progressive from $264.00 to $285.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $333.00 to $318.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, March 10th. HSBC cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target for the company. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Hsbc Global Res lowered Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Progressive from $313.00 to $317.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $281.76.

Progressive Stock Up 1.6 %

PGR stock opened at $283.87 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The stock has a market capitalization of $166.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $287.49. The business has a 50-day moving average of $258.14 and a 200-day moving average of $254.07.

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

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 11th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 3rd will be issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total transaction of $2,386,600.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,530,756.28. This represents a 3.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $114,691,485.60. This represents a 1.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 62,257 shares of company stock worth $15,752,781 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the 4th quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3,000.0% during the 4th quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.