Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Takes $18 Million Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. bought a new position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 93,285 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $17,996,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

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 stock was 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 owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Remove Ads

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allstate currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $220.00.

Allstate Stock Down 0.2 %

NYSE:ALL traded down $0.44 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $190.35. 520,802 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,613,323. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $196.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.17. The company has a market cap of $50.45 billion, a PE ratio of 11.20, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta 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 predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase 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 stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.10%. Allstate's payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

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.