Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Cut to “Hold” at Hsbc Global Res

Hsbc Global Res lowered shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning,Zacks.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. UBS Group reduced their target price on Progressive from $268.00 to $261.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Progressive from $305.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $242.00 to $240.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 13th. Bank of America cut their price target on shares of Progressive from $350.00 to $348.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 9th. Finally, William Blair cut shares of Progressive from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $259.39.

Progressive Trading Down 0.6%

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $202.35 on Friday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $222.93 and its 200 day simple moving average is $233.81. Progressive has a 1 year low of $199.90 and a 1 year high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.19, a current ratio of 0.29 and a quick ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $118.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.23 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 8th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, January 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is presently 2.19%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Steven Broz sold 1,345 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.29, for a total value of $307,050.05. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,698 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,323,176.42. This trade represents a 4.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 5,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.48, for a total value of $1,142,400.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 223,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,956,523.52. This trade represents a 2.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 9,034 shares of company stock valued at $2,047,481 over the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 54,667,528 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $13,500,146,000 after acquiring an additional 151,240 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Progressive by 0.3% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $6,373,474,000 after purchasing an additional 78,374 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 15,513,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,128,055,000 after purchasing an additional 301,371 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Progressive by 78.9% during the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,384,082,000 after buying an additional 6,045,732 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors grew its position in shares of Progressive by 26.1% in the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.