Geode Capital Management LLC Boosts Stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 3.1% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 6,419,728 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 191,147 shares during the quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $1,236,060,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Trading Up 0.2 %

ALL opened at $207.45 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $54.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a 12 month low of $156.66 and a 12 month high of $212.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $196.53 and a 200 day moving average of $194.20. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

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 is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.80.

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 stock was 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 owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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.