Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Downgraded by StockNews.com to “Hold”

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $251.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Progressive from $277.00 to $261.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. HSBC lowered shares of Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $267.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $300.00 to $307.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Progressive currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.71.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $250.64 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $146.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 0.42. Progressive has a twelve month low of $180.72 and a twelve month high of $270.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.30, a current ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $245.61 and a two-hundred day moving average of $245.36.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The insurance provider reported $4.08 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.44 by $0.64. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. As a group, analysts predict that Progressive will post 14.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 16th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 9th were paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, January 10th. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is presently 2.78%.

Insider Activity at Progressive

In other news, CAO Mariann Wojtkun Marshall sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $242.10, for a total value of $46,241.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $964,042.20. This represents a 4.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.09, for a total transaction of $2,680,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 292,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $78,539,110.22. This trade represents a 3.30 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 56,361 shares of company stock valued at $13,983,575. Corporate insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PGR. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $408,416,000. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 14,425,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $3,652,235,000 after purchasing an additional 1,682,213 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 4,749,628 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,205,266,000 after purchasing an additional 842,109 shares during the period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 75.3% during the 3rd quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,494,084 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $379,139,000 after purchasing an additional 641,943 shares during the period. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 29,701.6% during the 3rd quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 596,331 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $151,325,000 after purchasing an additional 594,330 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.