O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC Boosts Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 9.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 63,568 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 5,476 shares during the quarter. O Shaughnessy Asset Management LLC's holdings in Allstate were worth $12,255,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

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

Allstate Stock Down 9.1 %

NYSE ALL traded down $18.58 on Friday, hitting $186.74. The stock had a trading volume of 3,351,598 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,590,545. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $156.66 and a 52-week high of $212.91. The business's fifty day moving average price is $197.37 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock has a market cap of $49.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Allstate's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.54%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com lowered Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Argus raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.80.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm'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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.