Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Reaches New 12-Month High at $207.94

The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $207.94 and last traded at $207.62, with a volume of 91268 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $206.15.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded Progressive from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $144.00 to $176.00 in a report on Monday, December 18th. HSBC assumed coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, December 28th. They issued a “hold” rating and a $164.00 price objective for the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Progressive from $188.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Progressive from $185.00 to $190.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Progressive from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $184.50.

Progressive Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $188.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $167.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a current ratio of 0.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $121.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.43 by $0.53. Progressive had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The company had revenue of $16.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.10 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 9.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a $0.10 dividend. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 3rd. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 12.92%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Progressive news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,889,859.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 58,949 shares of company stock worth $10,671,740. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Markel Corp increased its stake in Progressive by 4.1% in the first quarter. Markel Corp now owns 750,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $85,578,000 after acquiring an additional 29,750 shares during the last quarter. Roundview Capital LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 0.8% in the first quarter. Roundview Capital LLC now owns 49,086 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $5,595,000 after purchasing an additional 381 shares during the period. Cibc World Market Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 6,693 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $763,000 after buying an additional 254 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 8.0% in the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 3,081 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $351,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Progressive by 103.5% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 7,022 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $800,000 after purchasing an additional 3,571 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Company Profile

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.