Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co Decreases Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co decreased its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 4.3% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 1,252 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 56 shares during the period. Pine Valley Investments Ltd Liability Co’s holdings in Allstate were worth $242,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of ALL opened at $195.01 on Friday. The Allstate Co. has a twelve month low of $153.87 and a twelve month high of $209.88. The firm has a market capitalization of $51.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. 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 fifty day simple moving average is $190.15 and its 200 day simple moving average is $190.71.

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

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 21.66%.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ALL shares. Jefferies Financial Group raised their price target on Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $220.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.94.

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.