Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Given New $200.00 Price Target at HSBC

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) had its price target boosted by HSBC from $174.00 to $200.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a hold rating on the insurance provider's stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Progressive from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $185.00 to $227.00 in a research note on Wednesday, March 6th. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They set a market perform rating and a $174.00 price objective for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upgraded shares of Progressive from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating and boosted their target price for the company from $144.00 to $176.00 in a research note on Monday, December 18th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $188.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 25th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Progressive presently has a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $186.50.

Progressive Stock Performance

NYSE:PGR traded up $0.67 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $206.82. 2,718,075 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,507,295. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.35, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. Progressive has a 52-week low of $111.41 and a 52-week high of $208.19. The company's 50 day moving average price is $189.55 and its 200-day moving average price is $167.28. The stock has a market capitalization of $121.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.43, a PEG ratio of 0.93 and a beta of 0.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 24th. The insurance provider reported $2.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.43 by $0.53. Progressive had a net margin of 6.28% and a return on equity of 21.25%. The business had revenue of $16.89 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.10 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.52 EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Progressive will post 9.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, April 12th. Investors of record on Thursday, April 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.19%. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is presently 12.92%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total transaction of $1,603,843.36. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,342 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,128,485.58. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, insider Patrick K. Callahan sold 29,675 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $190.26, for a total value of $5,645,965.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 15,189 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,889,859.14. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,464 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $189.49, for a total value of $1,603,843.36. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $6,128,485.58. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 58,949 shares of company stock worth $10,671,740 in the last quarter. 0.34% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Progressive

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in Progressive during the fourth quarter worth $908,000. Quadrature Capital Ltd increased its position in Progressive by 11.8% during the fourth quarter. Quadrature Capital Ltd now owns 183,192 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $29,188,000 after buying an additional 19,284 shares in the last quarter. Grayhawk Investment Strategies Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $964,000. Global Frontier Investments LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Global Frontier Investments LLC now owns 182,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $28,988,000 after purchasing an additional 40,000 shares during the period. Finally, Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive in the fourth quarter valued at $264,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.