Harbert Fund Advisors Inc. Makes New $964,000 Investment in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Harbert Fund Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,000 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $964,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 5.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 577,934 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $109,605,000 after buying an additional 28,584 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC raised its position in Allstate by 117.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $944,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in Allstate by 6.9% during the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 58,600 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,297,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Allstate by 10.5% in the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 508,664 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $98,065,000 after buying an additional 48,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its position in shares of Allstate by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 401,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $77,413,000 after purchasing an additional 100,311 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company's stock.

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Allstate Stock Up 0.7 %

ALL stock traded up $1.34 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $195.88. The stock had a trading volume of 747,413 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,618,683. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91. The company has a market capitalization of $51.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $196.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.27. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 research analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.04%. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ALL shares. Argus upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 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 research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.27.

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.