Richwood Investment Advisors LLC Boosts Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Richwood Investment Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 9.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,602 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Richwood Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $309,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Allstate during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Stock Performance

ALL opened at $206.60 on Friday. 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 company has a market cap of $54.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company’s 50 day moving average is $193.75 and its 200 day moving average is $193.09. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (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%. On average, equities research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given 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 has a consensus 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.