Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 3.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 97,270 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 3,096 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Allstate were worth $18,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of ALL stock traded down $0.45 on Thursday, hitting $204.98. 400,568 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,570,974. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.06, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $196.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.28. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business 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. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Allstate's payout ratio is 23.54%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $219.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate 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 directly owns 18,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

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.