Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio Purchases Shares of 112,362 The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 112,362 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $21,662,000.

Other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Allstate Trading Up 0.9%

Shares of NYSE ALL traded up $1.92 during trading on Friday, reaching $208.68. The company had a trading volume of 366,223 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,603,314. The stock has a market cap of $55.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.27, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The company's fifty day moving average price is $199.44 and its 200-day moving average price is $196.68. 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 Allstate Co. has a 12 month low of $156.66 and a 12 month high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced 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 company had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.41 billion. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. The business's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $5.13 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

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

Allstate Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.92%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Allstate's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wall Street Zen raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Allstate from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.20.

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.