Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC Has $6.45 Million Stock Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 33,459 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 362 shares during the quarter. Allstate makes up approximately 1.1% of Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 25th largest position. Meridian Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $6,450,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allstate Price Performance

NYSE:ALL opened at $206.60 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $54.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $193.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate announced that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the 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 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ALL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.94.

Allstate 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.