Heritage Wealth Management Inc. Sells 414 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Heritage Wealth Management Inc. reduced its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 2.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 19,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 414 shares during the quarter. Allstate makes up 1.3% of Heritage Wealth Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 12th largest holding. Heritage Wealth Management Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $3,798,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALL. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its position in Allstate by 15,062.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,119,129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $215,757,000 after buying an additional 1,111,748 shares during the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate in the 3rd quarter valued at $77,819,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Allstate by 688.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 460,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $87,292,000 after buying an additional 401,901 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service raised its position in Allstate by 69.7% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 708,098 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $136,514,000 after buying an additional 290,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Allstate by 22,981.9% in the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 269,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,887,000 after buying an additional 267,969 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Allstate Stock Up 2.1 %

ALL stock opened at $199.20 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market capitalization of $52.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $153.87 and a fifty-two week high of $209.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $190.26 and a 200-day moving average of $191.04.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.66%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ALL shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Allstate from $220.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.94.

Allstate Profile

The Allstate Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides property and casualty, and other insurance products in the United States and Canada. It operates in five segments: Allstate Protection; Protection Services; Allstate Health and Benefits; Run-off Property-Liability; and Corporate and Other segments.