Progressive (NYSE:PGR) Given New $300.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) had its target price upped by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $260.00 to $300.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the insurance provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 16.77% from the stock’s previous close.

PGR has been the topic of several other research reports. Hsbc Global Res upgraded Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $255.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Progressive in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $367.00 price objective for the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America raised their target price on Progressive from $294.00 to $312.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.12.

Progressive Stock Up 0.2 %

PGR stock opened at $256.91 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $231.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $216.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.31, a quick ratio of 0.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30. The company has a market capitalization of $150.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. Progressive has a 52 week low of $137.59 and a 52 week high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.54 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.57 earnings per share. Progressive’s revenue was up 21.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Progressive will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total value of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at $119,475,967. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, insider Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $235.19, for a total value of $1,439,833.18. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 32,316 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,600,400.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $252.20, for a total transaction of $10,937,914.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $119,475,967. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 146,704 shares of company stock worth $33,367,408 over the last ninety days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PGR. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 21.3% in the 2nd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 262 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,000 after buying an additional 46 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its position in Progressive by 11.8% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. raised its stake in Progressive by 10.4% during the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 48 shares during the last quarter. Graypoint LLC boosted its holdings in Progressive by 1.2% in the 2nd quarter. Graypoint LLC now owns 4,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $873,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Finally, City State Bank grew its position in Progressive by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $137,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

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.