Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Grows Stock Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 3.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 97,270 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,096 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $18,753,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of ALL opened at $206.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $195.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.85. 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 fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. Equities analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

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.