GAMMA Investing LLC Increases Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 27.7% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 5,725 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,243 shares during the quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $1,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Park Place Capital Corp lifted its holdings in Progressive by 79.0% in the second quarter. Park Place Capital Corp now owns 3,562 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $740,000 after purchasing an additional 1,572 shares during the period. Capital Market Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Progressive during the second quarter worth about $283,000. Confluence Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Progressive by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 937,114 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $194,648,000 after purchasing an additional 25,007 shares during the last quarter. HM Payson & Co. boosted its stake in Progressive by 207.1% in the 1st quarter. HM Payson & Co. now owns 989 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $205,000 after purchasing an additional 667 shares during the period. Finally, American Trust bought a new stake in shares of Progressive during the 1st quarter valued at $1,082,000. 85.34% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on PGR. Bank of America raised their price objective on Progressive from $276.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Progressive from $256.00 to $255.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, June 10th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upgraded Progressive from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $210.00 to $245.00 in a research note on Wednesday, July 17th. UBS Group raised their price target on Progressive from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $235.00 price target on shares of Progressive in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.94.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of Progressive stock traded down $6.59 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $210.35. The stock had a trading volume of 1,658,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,567,606. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $211.29 and its 200 day moving average is $203.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $123.20 billion, a PE ratio of 22.20, a PEG ratio of 0.75 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a twelve month low of $124.06 and a twelve month high of $229.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.33, a quick ratio of 0.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.30.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The business had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a net margin of 10.17% and a return on equity of 33.01%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.57 EPS. Equities analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 12.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, July 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, July 3rd were given a dividend of $0.10 per share. This represents a $0.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.19%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, July 3rd. Progressive’s payout ratio is currently 4.09%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Progressive

In related news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,467 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total value of $527,962.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 24,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,290,327.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, CIO Jonathan S. Bauer sold 2,467 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $214.01, for a total transaction of $527,962.67. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 24,720 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,290,327.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Philip Bleser sold 2,129 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.08, for a total value of $466,421.32. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 974 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $213,383.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 108,168 shares of company stock valued at $22,937,984. 0.34% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.