The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Bought by Cetera Investment Advisers

Cetera Investment Advisers grew its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 59,216 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 535 shares during the quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers’ holdings in Allstate were worth $11,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Trading Down 0.0 %

ALL stock opened at $202.57 on Friday. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. The business’s 50-day moving average is $199.06 and its 200 day moving average is $195.17. 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 has a market cap of $53.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.45). Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. The firm had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is 27.32%.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ALL shares. StockNews.com upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Allstate from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.20.

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.