The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Purchased by NewEdge Advisors LLC

NewEdge Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 26,091 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,082 shares during the period. NewEdge Advisors LLC's holdings in Allstate were worth $5,030,000 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 ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at $40,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALL opened at $194.61 on Friday. The Allstate Co. has a 1-year low of $156.66 and a 1-year high of $212.91. The company has a market cap of $51.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. 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's 50-day moving average is $197.27 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.37.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. Analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. This is an increase from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business'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 transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ALL shares. Argus raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on shares of Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $219.27.

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.

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