Taika Capital LP Acquires New Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Taika Capital LP bought a new position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund bought 12,371 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,385,000. Allstate comprises about 1.8% of Taika Capital LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC raised its holdings in Allstate by 15.6% during the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 1,337 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Argentarii LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $898,000. Personal CFO Solutions LLC bought a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $342,000. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC lifted its holdings in Allstate by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Dorsey & Whitney Trust CO LLC now owns 3,194 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $616,000 after buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Allstate by 35.4% during the fourth quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,688 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $325,000 after acquiring an additional 441 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on ALL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays cut their price target on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of 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, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE ALL opened at $200.87 on Monday. 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 capitalization of $53.24 billion, a PE ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $155.59 and a 52-week high of $209.88. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.76 and a 200 day simple moving average of $191.82.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed 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 represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.99%. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its board has approved a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.