IPG Investment Advisors LLC Invests $1.32 Million in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

IPG Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,319,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Allstate by 5.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 577,934 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $109,605,000 after buying an additional 28,584 shares during the period. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Allstate by 117.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $944,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 58,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $11,297,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Allstate by 10.5% during the fourth quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 508,664 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $98,065,000 after purchasing an additional 48,382 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 33.3% in the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 401,542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,413,000 after purchasing an additional 100,311 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of Allstate stock opened at $206.46 on Friday. 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 firm has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $195.81 and its 200-day moving average is $193.85. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.54%.

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

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In other Allstate 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 value of $7,480,226.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.