Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target Raised to $320.00 at Morgan Stanley

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price hoisted by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $310.00 to $320.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “overweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.69% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PGR. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $288.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a report on Thursday, April 17th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Progressive from $267.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com cut Progressive from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $287.41.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of PGR opened at $269.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a quick ratio of 0.30 and a current ratio of 0.31. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The stock has a market cap of $158.05 billion, a PE ratio of 18.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.38. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $274.12 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $258.47.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.79% and a net margin of 11.25%. The business had revenue of $22.21 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.87 billion. Analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, insider Lori A. Niederst sold 3,855 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $247.06, for a total value of $952,416.30. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 39,040 shares in the company, valued at $9,645,222.40. This trade represents a 8.99 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $275.94, for a total transaction of $2,759,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 258,024 shares in the company, valued at $71,199,142.56. The trade was a 3.73 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 43,749 shares of company stock worth $11,786,613 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Webster Bank N. A. acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Highline Wealth Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 114.0% during the 1st quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. Hager Investment Management Services LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progressive by 54.7% in the fourth quarter. Atlantic Edge Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 116 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Finally, Minot DeBlois Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.