Seven Eight Capital LP Has $2.28 Million Stake in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Seven Eight Capital LP boosted its holdings in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR) by 299.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,965 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,217 shares during the period. Seven Eight Capital LP’s holdings in Progressive were worth $2,278,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 11.8% in the 2nd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 455 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. grew its position in shares of Progressive by 10.4% in the 2nd quarter. Farmers & Merchants Investments Inc. now owns 509 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $106,000 after acquiring an additional 48 shares during the period. Graypoint LLC grew its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 49 shares during the period. City State Bank grew its position in shares of Progressive by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 661 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $137,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. Finally, GYL Financial Synergies LLC grew its position in shares of Progressive by 4.0% in the 2nd quarter. GYL Financial Synergies LLC now owns 1,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the period. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Progressive Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR opened at $257.69 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $232.38 and a 200-day moving average of $216.31. The stock has a market capitalization of $150.93 billion, a PE ratio of 26.38, a PEG ratio of 0.82 and a beta of 0.35. 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 Progressive Co. has a 12 month low of $137.59 and a 12 month high of $260.46.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 16th. The insurance provider reported $2.65 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.04 by $0.61. The company 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.57 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Progressive Co. will post 12.29 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Progressive Announces Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 3,050 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.81, for a total transaction of $639,920.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 32,453 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,808,963.93. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, 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 a total of 146,704 shares of company stock worth $33,367,408 in the last three months. 0.34% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PGR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Progressive from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday. Roth Mkm lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $270.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on shares of Progressive from $256.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 17th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Progressive has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $257.18.

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.