Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. Increases Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 1.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,834,172 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 19,463 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. owned about 0.69% of Allstate worth $353,610,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the third quarter worth $29,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $49,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $57,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of ALL stock opened at $199.65 on Thursday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $52.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $154.76 and a one year high of $209.88. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $190.58 and a 200 day moving average price of $191.47.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.00%. Allstate's payout ratio is 23.54%.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on ALL shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allstate currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $217.94.

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.

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