The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Acquired by NEOS Investment Management LLC

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 28.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 11,183 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 2,483 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC's holdings in Allstate were worth $2,156,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALL has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Argus raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $219.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 directly owns 18,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALL traded down $1.67 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $205.83. 440,262 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,570,695. The stock has a market cap of $54.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $196.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Allstate's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.54%.

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

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.