Trexquant Investment LP Purchases 2,581 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Trexquant Investment LP boosted its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,924 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 2,581 shares during the period. Trexquant Investment LP’s holdings in Allstate were worth $9,432,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

Allstate Price Performance

NYSE:ALL opened at $205.59 on Thursday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $196.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $194.28. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $156.66 and a 52-week high of $212.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $54.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.10, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.95%. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the 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 sale, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.