Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Buys 5,093 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 34.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 19,962 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 5,093 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $3,848,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALL has been the topic of several recent research reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Allstate currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.27.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALL opened at $194.61 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $51.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $197.27 and its 200 day moving average is $194.42. 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 Allstate Co. has a 1-year low of $156.66 and a 1-year high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share 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, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

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

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock 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 typically a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.