Zhang Financial LLC Purchases New Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Zhang Financial LLC purchased a new stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 2,317 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $324,000.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 40.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 187,869 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $26,022,000 after acquiring an additional 53,824 shares in the last quarter. Prudential PLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the first quarter valued at about $1,325,000. Cetera Investment Advisers grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 13.9% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 23,536 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $3,260,000 after acquiring an additional 2,874 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the first quarter valued at about $270,000. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 36.2% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,237 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after acquiring an additional 860 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ALL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Allstate from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Allstate from $164.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. HSBC raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $158.00 to $190.00 in a research report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $190.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.71.

Allstate Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NYSE ALL opened at $172.96 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $163.84 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.03. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $100.57 and a 52-week high of $174.57.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $5.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $1.95. Allstate had a negative net margin of 0.33% and a positive return on equity of 2.67%. The firm had revenue of $14.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.36) earnings per share. Allstate’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 13.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were issued a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Allstate’s payout ratio is -296.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John E. Dugenske sold 31,000 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.20, for a total transaction of $5,276,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now owns 63,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,847,016.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $637,880.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 10,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,712,069.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John E. Dugenske sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.20, for a total transaction of $5,276,200.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 63,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,847,016.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate 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.