The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

The Progressive Corporation (NYSE:PGR) has received an average recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-two brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have given a hold rating and six have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $239.2222.

Several research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on shares of Progressive from $216.00 to $215.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. UBS Group increased their price target on Progressive from $218.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, March 23rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price objective on Progressive from $232.00 to $227.00 and set a “market perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, March 19th. Barclays set a $247.00 price objective on Progressive in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded Progressive to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 5th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 270 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $206.50, for a total transaction of $55,755.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 558 shares in the company, valued at $115,227. This represents a 32.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total transaction of $150,201.75. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 11,687 shares of company stock valued at $2,413,044 over the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 1.1% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 55,261,140 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,584,067,000 after purchasing an additional 593,612 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 25,808,762 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $6,373,474,000 after buying an additional 78,374 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its holdings in shares of Progressive by 8.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 14,921,724 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,398,123,000 after buying an additional 1,217,527 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 26.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 32.8% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,928,141,000 after buying an additional 2,709,417 shares during the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock opened at $198.41 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $116.06 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.86 and a beta of 0.33. Progressive has a twelve month low of $197.92 and a twelve month high of $289.96. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $205.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $219.65.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, April 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is 2.08%.

About Progressive

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.