Wells Fargo & Company Increases Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $247.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective boosted by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $242.00 to $247.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target points to a potential upside of 8.50% from the company’s current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on PGR. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Progressive from $256.00 to $253.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Progressive from $301.38 to $300.60 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, December 15th. Barclays cut their price target on Progressive from $271.00 to $257.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, October 20th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Progressive in a report on Monday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating for the company. Finally, HSBC set a $259.00 price objective on shares of Progressive and gave the company an “underperform” rating in a research note on Monday, November 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $264.98.

Progressive Trading Down 0.1%

PGR opened at $227.66 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $133.50 billion, a PE ratio of 12.49, a P/E/G ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a quick ratio of 0.29 and a current ratio of 0.29. Progressive has a one year low of $199.90 and a one year high of $292.99. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $222.36 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.72.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.45 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $5.04 by ($0.59). The firm had revenue of $21.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.64 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.88% and a net margin of 12.57%.During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $3.58 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,344 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, December 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $224.80, for a total transaction of $302,131.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 26,354 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,924,379.20. The trade was a 4.85% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total transaction of $1,142,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. The trade was a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders have sold 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Rise Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 7.4% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 521 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $147,000 after purchasing an additional 36 shares during the period. LRI Investments LLC increased its position in Progressive by 13.4% in the 2nd quarter. LRI Investments LLC now owns 338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 40 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 1,053 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $281,000 after acquiring an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc raised its stake in Progressive by 20.8% during the 2nd quarter. Bell Investment Advisors Inc now owns 256 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $68,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maia Wealth LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 5.4% during the 2nd quarter. Maia Wealth LLC now owns 857 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $229,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Company Profile

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.