Bretton Capital Management LLC Makes New $8.48 Million Investment in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR)

Bretton Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in The Progressive Co. (NYSE:PGR - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 33,400 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,476,000. Progressive makes up about 8.1% of Bretton Capital Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 2nd largest position.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Progressive by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,751,851 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $10,703,318,000 after purchasing an additional 285,070 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its position in shares of Progressive by 15.7% in 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 during the period. Legal & General Group Plc raised its stake in shares of Progressive by 1.9% during the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 4,922,743 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,022,507,000 after buying an additional 92,212 shares in the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Progressive by 3.0% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 2,392,773 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $497,003,000 after acquiring an additional 69,709 shares in the last quarter. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Progressive by 13.5% in the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,685,868 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $348,671,000 after buying an additional 200,118 shares in the last quarter. 85.34% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Steven Broz sold 6,122 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 32,316 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,600,400.04. This represents a 15.93 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Susan Patricia Griffith sold 43,370 shares of Progressive 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 473,735 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $119,475,967. The trade was a 8.39 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 65,331 shares of company stock worth $16,415,812 over the last 90 days. 0.34% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on PGR shares. Bank of America increased their price target on Progressive from $319.00 to $331.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Progressive from $239.00 to $237.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Progressive from $262.00 to $280.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Progressive from $281.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Progressive from $232.00 to $225.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $269.56.

Progressive Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PGR traded down $3.87 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $257.50. The company had a trading volume of 1,822,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,460,099. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.30 and a quick ratio of 0.30. The company has a market cap of $150.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.67, a PEG ratio of 0.73 and a beta of 0.36. The Progressive Co. has a 12-month low of $149.14 and a 12-month high of $263.85. The company has a fifty day moving average of $251.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $229.29.

Progressive (NYSE:PGR - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 15th. The insurance provider reported $3.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.18. Progressive had a net margin of 11.27% and a return on equity of 33.10%. The business had revenue of $19.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $18.95 billion. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Progressive Co. will post 13.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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.