Allianz SE Makes New $314,000 Investment in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Allianz SE acquired a new stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm acquired 1,630 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $314,000.

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

Allstate Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of ALL stock opened at $206.46 on Monday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.81 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $212.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors 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 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Allstate’s payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on ALL shares. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.80.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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.