Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC Takes $1.35 Million Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Sagespring Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 7,014 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,352,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Allstate by 5.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 577,934 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $109,605,000 after purchasing an additional 28,584 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 117.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $944,000 after buying an additional 2,643 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. increased its position in Allstate by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 58,600 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $11,297,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Allstate by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 508,664 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $98,065,000 after buying an additional 48,382 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its holdings in Allstate by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 401,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $77,413,000 after acquiring an additional 100,311 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Allstate Price Performance

Allstate stock traded up $0.37 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $194.61. 1,905,656 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,623,931. The company's fifty day moving average is $197.27 and its 200-day moving average is $194.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The Allstate Co. has a 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $212.91. The firm has a market cap of $51.58 billion, a PE ratio of 11.45, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

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

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 represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate's payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have weighed in on ALL. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut shares of Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.27.

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.