Vision Financial Markets LLC Buys New Shares in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 150 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its stake in Allstate by 15,062.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,119,129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $215,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,748 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,819,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 688.4% in the 3rd quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 460,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $87,292,000 after acquiring an additional 401,901 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 69.7% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 708,098 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $136,514,000 after acquiring an additional 290,858 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 267,969 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ALL stock opened at $197.42 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $52.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.62, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $155.40 and a 52-week high of $209.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $191.51.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.54%.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 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 filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ALL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted 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. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Allstate from $220.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their target price on Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allstate presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.