Aquatic Capital Management LLC Invests $4.27 Million in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Aquatic Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 22,127 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,266,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Allstate by 66.9% during the 4th quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. now owns 12,171 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,341,000 after acquiring an additional 4,879 shares in the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $4,940,000. Virtus ETF Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $1,173,000. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 3.7% during the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 8,483 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,635,000 after acquiring an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hancock Whitney Corp boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 30.8% during the 4th quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp now owns 97,095 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $18,719,000 after acquiring an additional 22,871 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Allstate Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of Allstate stock traded down $0.55 on Wednesday, reaching $198.24. 2,307,579 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,620,830. 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 company has a market capitalization of $52.56 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.67, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91. The company has a 50-day moving average of $197.89 and a 200 day moving average of $194.77.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.45). Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $5.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.02%. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on ALL shares. Barclays reduced their price objective on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Allstate has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $219.27.

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.