Pacer Advisors Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 56.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 30,627 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 11,013 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Allstate were worth $5,905,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the 3rd quarter valued at $58,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Trading Up 1.6 %

Allstate stock traded up $2.99 during trading on Thursday, reaching $193.80. 863,620 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,822,032. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.40 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $194.33 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.10. The company has a market capitalization of $51.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.55, a PEG ratio of 1.41 and a beta of 0.52. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $153.42 and a 52-week high of $209.88.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.20 by $1.71. Allstate had a net margin of 6.77% and a return on equity of 26.67%. The firm had revenue of $16.63 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.57 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.81 earnings per share. Allstate's quarterly revenue was up 14.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 16.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Stockholders of record on Friday, November 29th were issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.90%. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently commented on ALL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays cut their price target on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Bank of America increased their price target on Allstate from $216.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Allstate from $205.00 to $207.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 10th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $218.13.

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.