Meridian Wealth Management LLC Raises Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Meridian Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 75.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 951 shares during the quarter. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $427,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Allstate Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of Allstate stock opened at $199.65 on Thursday. The business has a 50-day moving average of $190.58 and a 200-day moving average of $191.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market capitalization of $52.91 billion, a PE ratio of 11.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The Allstate Co. has a 1-year low of $154.76 and a 1-year high of $209.88.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows 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 leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.54%.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, 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 document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALL has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.