Sargent Investment Group LLC Raises Holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Sargent Investment Group LLC lifted its position in shares of The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 186.6% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,110 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,025 shares during the period. Sargent Investment Group LLC’s holdings in Progressive were worth $646,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Progressive by 237.8% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,485,750 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,650,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045,883 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its stake in Progressive by 4,545.0% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 705,243 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $145,858,000 after buying an additional 690,060 shares during the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its stake in shares of Progressive by 548.2% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 811,653 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $167,866,000 after acquiring an additional 686,433 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Progressive by 15.7% during the 1st quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 4,925,019 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,018,592,000 after purchasing an additional 670,006 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swedbank AB purchased a new stake in shares of Progressive during the first quarter valued at approximately $116,852,000. Institutional investors own 85.34% of the company’s stock.

Progressive Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $256.31 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $150.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.23, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. The Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $137.59 and a 12 month high of $260.46. 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 50-day moving average price of $230.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $215.53.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.04 by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $17.90 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.54 billion. Progressive had a return on equity of 33.01% and a net margin of 10.17%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 21.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.57 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Progressive Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, October 11th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, October 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.10 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 3rd. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. Progressive’s dividend payout ratio is 4.09%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of Progressive stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total value of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 473,735 shares in the company, valued at $119,475,967. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 146,704 shares of company stock worth $33,367,408 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.34% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PGR. Hsbc Global Res raised Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. HSBC raised shares of Progressive from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $253.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, August 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Progressive from $210.00 to $239.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their target price on Progressive from $243.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $256.12.

Progressive 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.