The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Bought by AXQ Capital LP

AXQ Capital LP boosted its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 14.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 4,997 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the quarter. AXQ Capital LP’s holdings in Allstate were worth $963,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 3rd quarter valued at about $209,000. Prospera Financial Services Inc increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 8.8% in the 3rd quarter. Prospera Financial Services Inc now owns 2,389 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $453,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $252,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 38.0% in the 3rd quarter. Eagle Asset Management Inc. now owns 10,497 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,067,000 after purchasing an additional 2,888 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Biltmore Family Office LLC increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Biltmore Family Office LLC now owns 6,710 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after purchasing an additional 133 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays cut their price objective on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

Allstate Stock Down 1.7 %

NYSE:ALL opened at $206.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $193.75 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.07. The Allstate Co. has a 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $212.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. Research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Company 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.