Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Buys 4,782 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 15.2% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 4,782 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $5,798,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. SageView Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $456,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Allstate by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 92,753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,984,000 after purchasing an additional 4,987 shares during the period. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth $5,927,000. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in Allstate in the 2nd quarter valued at $3,051,000. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $52,042,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Suren Gupta sold 45,775 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.28, for a total value of $8,114,992.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 89,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,942,790.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Allstate news, CEO Thomas J. Wilson sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.34, for a total transaction of $16,140,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 88,552 shares in the company, valued at $15,880,915.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Suren Gupta sold 45,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.28, for a total value of $8,114,992.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 89,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,942,790.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 201,938 shares of company stock valued at $36,122,740 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE ALL opened at $184.39 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.66 billion, a PE ratio of 40.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.75 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $107.85 and a 52-week high of $191.33. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $175.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $168.73.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $1.28. Allstate had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The company had revenue of $15.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($4.42) EPS. Allstate’s quarterly revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 15.16 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. Allstate’s payout ratio is presently 81.24%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALL has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Allstate from $193.00 to $224.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Allstate from $177.00 to $175.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 16th. Barclays initiated coverage on Allstate in a research note on Wednesday, September 4th. They issued an “underweight” rating and a $175.00 price objective for the company. Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 target price on shares of Allstate in a research report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Allstate from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned 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, Allstate has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $192.76.

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.