Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Raised to $313.00 at Wells Fargo & Company

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price boosted by Wells Fargo & Company from $302.00 to $313.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also commented on the stock. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Progressive from $331.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 18th. 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 report on Thursday, December 26th. TD Cowen raised their price target on Progressive from $197.00 to $237.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $310.00 to $300.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 21st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.29.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $249.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $145.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.64 and a beta of 0.41. Progressive has a 1-year low of $176.37 and a 1-year high of $270.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.30, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $247.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $244.27.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS 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 34.32%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Progressive will post 14.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.78%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 9,066 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $2,194,878.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $114,691,485.60. The trade was a 1.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total transaction of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares in the company, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 52,506 shares of company stock valued at $13,031,159. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Davis Capital Management bought a new position in Progressive during the 3rd quarter worth about $25,000. Webster Bank N. A. bought a new stake in Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Hager Investment Management Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC raised its position 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 buying an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Progressive by 3,000.0% in the fourth quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. 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.