BMO Capital Markets Downgrades Progressive (NYSE:PGR) to Market Perform

Key Points

• BMO Capital Markets downgraded Progressive's stock rating from "outperform" to "market perform" with a price target of $250.00, indicating a potential upside of 1.90%.
• Progressive reported earnings of $4.88 per share, exceeding estimates, while its revenue grew 12.1% year-over-year, totaling $20.08 billion for the quarter.
• Insider selling activity was noted, including CEO Susan Griffith selling over 30,000 shares, which decreased her ownership by 6.05%.

BMO Capital Markets lowered shares of Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report released on Wednesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has $250.00 target price on the insurance provider's stock, down from their previous target price of $279.00.

PGR has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Progressive from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Progressive from $309.00 to $287.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Citigroup reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Progressive in a research note on Friday, August 29th. UBS Group dropped their price objective on Progressive from $280.00 to $268.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Finally, Wolfe Research started coverage on Progressive in a research report on Monday, September 15th. They set a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $279.44.

Progressive Stock Up 0.1%

PGR traded up $0.26 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $242.26. 4,778,275 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,433,152. The stock has a market cap of $142.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 13.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.38 and a beta of 0.32. Progressive has a fifty-two week low of $228.54 and a fifty-two week high of $292.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.21, a current ratio of 0.31 and a quick ratio of 0.31. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $245.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $263.34.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $4.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.43 by $0.45. Progressive had a return on equity of 35.37% and a net margin of 12.66%.The company had revenue of $20.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $20.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $2.48 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 12.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Progressive will post 14.68 EPS for the current year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 10th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 2nd. Progressive's dividend payout ratio is 2.25%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Karen Bailo sold 8,922 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $2,223,719.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 32,346 shares in the company, valued at $8,061,917.04. This represents a 21.62% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO John P. Sauerland sold 16,664 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $249.24, for a total transaction of $4,153,335.36. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 228,024 shares in the company, valued at approximately $56,832,701.76. This represents a 6.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 130,062 shares of company stock worth $32,217,635. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Progressive

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Highline Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 114.0% during the first quarter. Highline Wealth Partners LLC now owns 92 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Progressive by 210.0% during the first quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC now owns 93 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. HWG Holdings LP acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth $28,000. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the first quarter worth $33,000. Finally, Atlantic Union Bankshares Corp acquired a new position in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth $33,000. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Progressive

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.