BMO Capital Markets Cuts Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Price Target to $208.00

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets cut its price target on Progressive from $232 to $208 and maintained a "market perform" rating, implying roughly a 2.6% upside from current levels.
• Shares traded down about 2% to $202.78, while analyst consensus is "Hold" with an average price target of $241.94, considerably above the current price.
• Institutional investors own 85.34% of Progressive and several large funds have recently increased stakes, even as insiders sold about 12,761 shares (~$2.66M) in the last quarter.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $232.00 to $208.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "market perform" rating on the insurance provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target suggests a potential upside of 2.57% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Roth Mkm set a $235.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Progressive from $300.60 to $261.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group dropped their price objective on shares of Progressive from $226.00 to $218.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Progressive from $214.00 to $205.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, Evercore set a $230.00 target price on shares of Progressive in a research note on Thursday, February 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Progressive currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $241.94.

Progressive Stock Down 2.0%

Shares of NYSE PGR traded down $4.18 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $202.78. 530,492 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,508,523. Progressive has a twelve month low of $197.92 and a twelve month high of $292.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.35, a quick ratio of 0.35 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.23. The firm has a market capitalization of $118.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.54, a PEG ratio of 9.00 and a beta of 0.33. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $223.19.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Progressive news, insider Maribel Pumarejo sold 739 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.25, for a total value of $150,201.75. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 3,517 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $212.00, for a total transaction of $745,604.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 32,348 shares in the company, valued at $6,857,776. This trade represents a 9.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 12,761 shares of company stock valued at $2,659,420 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,156,939,000. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 78.9% in the 3rd quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 13,704,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,384,082,000 after buying an additional 6,045,732 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Progressive by 181.8% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,506,302 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,481,615,000 after buying an additional 4,197,212 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 32.8% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 10,972,574 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,928,141,000 after buying an additional 2,709,417 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors increased its holdings in Progressive by 26.1% during the third quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 11,167,940 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,757,905,000 after buying an additional 2,314,864 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company's stock.

About Progressive

Progressive Corporation is a large U.S.-based property and casualty insurer that primarily underwrites personal auto insurance along with a broad suite of related products. Its offerings include coverage for private passenger automobiles, commercial auto fleets, motorcycles, boats and recreational vehicles, as well as homeowners, renters, umbrella and other specialty P&C products. Progressive also provides claims handling, risk management and related services to individual and commercial policyholders.

The company distributes its products through a mix of direct channels—online and by phone—and an extensive independent agent network.

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