Forum Financial Management LP Raises Stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 5.4% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 10,202 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 523 shares during the quarter. Forum Financial Management LP’s holdings in Allstate were worth $1,967,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Apella Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Allstate by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Intrust Bank NA lifted its position in Allstate by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 12,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,340,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in Allstate by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its holdings in Allstate by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $697,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after acquiring an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $194.61 on Friday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $197.27 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.34. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $156.66 and a 52-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. The company has a market capitalization of $51.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.06%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com cut shares of Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Barclays reduced their target price on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.