The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Holdings Lifted by Aptus Capital Advisors LLC

Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 48.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 5,197 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,697 shares during the period. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC's holdings in Allstate were worth $1,004,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

ALL traded down $0.05 during trading on Friday, reaching $202.57. 707,236 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,613,696. The Allstate Co. has a 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $212.91. The stock has a market cap of $53.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $199.06 and a 200 day moving average of $195.15.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.41 billion. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. Allstate's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $5.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. This is an increase from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate's payout ratio is presently 27.32%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently commented on ALL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on shares of Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Allstate currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate 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 directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

About Allstate

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.