1,170 Shares in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Acquired by Savvy Advisors Inc.

Savvy Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 1,170 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of ALL opened at $194.53 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $51.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $156.66 and a 1 year high of $212.91. The company’s fifty day moving average is $196.93 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.27.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company’s leadership 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 paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.06%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is 23.54%.

Insider Activity

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALL. StockNews.com raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their target price on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.27.

About Allstate

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.