Smartleaf Asset Management LLC Raises Stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 15.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,620 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 216 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $312,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ALL. Hickory Point Bank & Trust purchased a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $329,000. Purkiss Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $281,000. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Allstate by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. now owns 1,060 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $204,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC raised its position in shares of Allstate by 60.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital Wealth Planning LLC now owns 1,757 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $339,000 after acquiring an additional 665 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Metis Global Partners LLC lifted its stake in Allstate by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 11,734 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,262,000 after purchasing an additional 546 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE:ALL opened at $199.14 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $190.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $191.41. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $154.76 and a 12-month high of $209.88. The firm has a market cap of $52.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

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 given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.01%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This trade 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 can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased 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. Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Allstate from $220.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Allstate presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.94.

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.