Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Lowered to $261.00 at Barclays

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price decreased by Barclays from $277.00 to $261.00 in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Barclays‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 8.30% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. StockNews.com raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 19th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $257.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $310.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James upgraded shares of Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $305.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 26th. Finally, Hsbc Global Res cut shares of Progressive from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $275.00.

Progressive Stock Performance

Progressive stock traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $241.00. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 823,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,776,452. The company has a market cap of $141.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 17.51, a PEG ratio of 0.70 and a beta of 0.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $251.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $240.50. Progressive has a 1-year low of $162.35 and a 1-year high of $270.62.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $19.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $18.95 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.10% and a net margin of 11.27%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Progressive will post 13.2 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $238.66, for a total value of $2,386,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 282,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $67,530,756.28. This trade represents a 3.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Steven Broz sold 2,981 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $251.15, for a total value of $748,678.15. Following the sale, the insider now owns 26,353 shares in the company, valued at $6,618,555.95. The trade was a 10.16 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 22,981 shares of company stock worth $5,816,178. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PGR. Private Advisor Group LLC grew its stake in Progressive by 1.6% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 10,782 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,240,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 16.9% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 9,490 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,971,000 after buying an additional 1,369 shares during the last quarter. Certuity LLC raised its position in Progressive by 9.0% during the second quarter. Certuity LLC now owns 1,418 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $295,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in Progressive by 74.7% in the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 13,552 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,815,000 after purchasing an additional 5,794 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ballentine Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 5.1% during the 2nd quarter. Ballentine Partners LLC now owns 11,036 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,292,000 after purchasing an additional 533 shares in the last quarter. 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.