BMO Capital Markets Cuts Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $205.00

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its price objective decreased by BMO Capital Markets from $220.00 to $205.00 in a research note released on Thursday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has a market perform rating on the insurance provider’s stock.

PGR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. UBS Group raised their price objective on Progressive from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 30th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Progressive from $231.00 to $226.00 and set a “market perform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. William Blair reiterated a “market perform” rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on shares of Progressive from $205.00 to $190.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 31st. Finally, Evercore set a $240.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $235.05.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of PGR stock opened at $207.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.24, a current ratio of 0.32 and a quick ratio of 0.27. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $208.77 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $206.50. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.42, a P/E/G ratio of 3.91 and a beta of 0.26. Progressive has a 12 month low of $189.20 and a 12 month high of $254.93.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 15th. The insurance provider reported $4.80 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.67 by $0.13. Progressive had a return on equity of 32.92% and a net margin of 12.84%.The company had revenue of $22.19 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $23.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $4.37 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 17.38 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 10th. Investors of record on Thursday, July 2nd were issued a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, July 2nd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 2.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In other Progressive news, insider John Jo Murphy sold 5,916 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $200.00, for a total transaction of $1,183,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 41,290 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,258,000. This trade represents a 12.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Jeffrey D. Kelly sold 7,000 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.33, for a total value of $1,514,310.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 22,546 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,877,376.18. The trade was a 23.69% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 15,230 shares of company stock worth $3,165,817 over the last quarter. 0.32% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Progressive

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PGR. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 15.6% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 3,392 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $813,000 after buying an additional 457 shares during the period. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth about $269,000. Bison Wealth LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Bison Wealth LLC now owns 2,568 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $615,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. HUB Investment Partners LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 7.8% in the second quarter. HUB Investment Partners LLC now owns 2,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $609,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Diversify Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Progressive by 12.0% in the second quarter. Diversify Wealth Management LLC now owns 15,146 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,681,000 after acquiring an additional 1,622 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Progressive

Here are the key news stories impacting Progressive this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Reuters reported that Progressive’s quarterly profit rose on higher auto insurance demand, reinforcing the view that core underwriting and pricing trends remain healthy. Progressive’s quarterly profit rises on higher auto insurance demand
• Positive Sentiment: Some commentary remains constructive after Q2, noting that Progressive continues to grow policies and remains a leading property and casualty insurer, which may help investor confidence. Progressive Is The P&C Insurer To Hold, After Policies Grow In Q2
• Neutral Sentiment: Bank of America raised its price target to $308 and kept a buy rating, signaling optimism even though the target was trimmed slightly from prior levels. Progressive Given New $308.00 Price Target at Bank of America
• Neutral Sentiment: Other analysts also reduced their forecasts after the mixed Q2 report, but several still view the shares as fairly valued to modestly attractive from current levels. Progressive Analysts Slash Their Forecasts After Q2 Results
• Negative Sentiment: BMO Capital Markets cut its price target to $205 and kept a market perform rating, reflecting a more cautious stance following the earnings release. BMO Capital Markets price target cut
• Negative Sentiment: Keefe, Bruyette & Woods also lowered its target to $226 and maintained a market perform rating, adding to the post-earnings analyst headwinds. KBW price target cut

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.