Transamerica Financial Advisors Inc. Grows Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

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

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth 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

Shares of Allstate stock opened at $206.46 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The Allstate Co. has a 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $212.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $195.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $193.85.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced 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 net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. Research analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

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

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 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.