QRG Capital Management Inc. Grows Stock Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 9.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 53,151 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,435 shares during the period. QRG Capital Management Inc.'s holdings in Allstate were worth $10,247,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALL. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Allstate by 22,981.9% during the 4th quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 269,135 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $51,887,000 after purchasing an additional 267,969 shares in the last quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. now owns 102,873 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $19,833,000 after buying an additional 2,500 shares during the last quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Allstate by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. New York Life Investment Management LLC now owns 39,228 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,563,000 after acquiring an additional 226 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its stake in Allstate by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 22,661 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,369,000 after acquiring an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its position in Allstate by 69.7% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 708,098 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $136,514,000 after acquiring an additional 290,858 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Allstate Price Performance

ALL stock traded up $2.72 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $201.87. 1,516,901 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,846,448. The company has a market cap of $53.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $153.87 and a 12-month high of $209.88. The stock's 50 day moving average is $190.26 and its 200 day moving average is $191.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Allstate's payout ratio is presently 21.66%.

Allstate declared that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays cut their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective 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. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $217.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm'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 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. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.