Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

PGR has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $282.00 to $288.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 17th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Progressive from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $312.00 price objective for the company in a report on Monday, April 28th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Progressive from $327.00 to $319.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $320.00 to $330.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Barclays upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $285.00 to $297.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Progressive presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $288.24.

Progressive Trading Down 1.5%

PGR opened at $276.90 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $162.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.70 and a beta of 0.40. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $275.33 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.30. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $201.34 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.28 by $0.37. The firm had revenue of $22.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.87 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 11.25% and a return on equity of 33.79%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Progressive will post 14.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Progressive

In other Progressive news, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 10,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.59, for a total transaction of $2,685,900.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 248,024 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $66,616,766.16. This represents a 3.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Carl G. Joyce sold 360 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $276.17, for a total transaction of $99,421.20. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 655 shares in the company, valued at $180,891.35. This trade represents a 35.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,894 shares of company stock valued at $11,020,097 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. WBI Investments LLC bought a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth $1,570,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Progressive by 12.2% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 29,362 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $8,310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,191 shares in the last quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its position in Progressive by 8.1% during the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 4,651 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,316,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares in the last quarter. Integrity Alliance LLC. bought a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth $4,569,000. Finally, Ransom Advisory Ltd bought a new stake in Progressive during the first quarter worth $35,000. 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.