The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Bought by Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.

Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 94.8% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 596 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 290 shares during the period. Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. United Bank purchased a new stake in Allstate during the third quarter worth $209,000. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 933,352 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $177,010,000 after buying an additional 98,179 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $782,000 after buying an additional 360 shares in the last quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC grew its stake in Allstate by 10.9% in the 3rd quarter. CreativeOne Wealth LLC now owns 6,286 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,192,000 after acquiring an additional 620 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in Allstate by 8.4% during the 3rd quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 119,760 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $22,712,000 after acquiring an additional 9,262 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on ALL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.80.

Allstate Price Performance

ALL opened at $206.46 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 stock has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $156.66 and a 1 year high of $212.91. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $195.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.85.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. 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 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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.