Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases 4,718 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Merit Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 120.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,627 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 4,718 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Allstate were worth $1,786,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth about $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 Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of ALL traded up $1.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $208.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,173,995 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,607,517. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $199.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $197.17. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.11 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $213.18.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share 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%. The company had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.41 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Dividend Announcement

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

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. William Blair began coverage on Allstate in a report on Friday. They issued a "sector outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allstate has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.20.

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.