Ceredex Value Advisors LLC Purchases 62,050 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Ceredex Value Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 41.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 210,750 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 62,050 shares during the period. Ceredex Value Advisors LLC owned 0.08% of Allstate worth $40,630,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Stock Down 3.8 %

NYSE:ALL traded down $7.31 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $187.35. 374,925 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,616,060. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $197.27 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.42. The company has a market cap of $49.65 billion, a PE ratio of 11.03, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. Equities 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 initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.14%. Allstate's payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In related 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALL has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.27.

About Allstate

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.