Optimize Financial Inc Invests $389,000 in The Allstate Corporation $ALL

Key Points

• Optimize Financial Inc has made a new investment of approximately $389,000 in The Allstate Corporation, acquiring 1,881 shares during the 1st quarter.
• Several analysts have raised their target prices for Allstate, with a consensus target price now set at $231.21 and a general rating of "Moderate Buy."
• Allstate has announced a quarterly dividend of $1.00, representing an annualized yield of 2.0%, to be paid on October 1st.

Optimize Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) during the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 1,881 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of ALL. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 30.3% during the first quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 11,361 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,352,000 after buying an additional 2,643 shares during the period. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 197.3% during the first quarter. Atlas Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 6,712 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,390,000 after buying an additional 4,454 shares during the period. Richard Bernstein Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the first quarter worth approximately $3,341,000. Dock Street Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the first quarter worth approximately $207,000. Finally, First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 5.5% during the first quarter. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co. now owns 57,499 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,906,000 after buying an additional 2,981 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Stock Down 1.0%

ALL traded down $2.07 on Friday, reaching $200.40. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,136,388 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,202,326. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $200.99 and a two-hundred day moving average of $200.37. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37. The company has a market capitalization of $52.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.42, a P/E/G ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.37. The Allstate Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $176.00 and a fifty-two week high of $214.76.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $5.94 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $3.20 by $2.74. The firm had revenue of $15.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.59 billion. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.74% and a net margin of 8.79%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.61 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that The Allstate Corporation will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Allstate's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 18.81%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on ALL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on shares of Allstate from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 6th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Allstate from $230.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Barclays restated an "underweight" rating and set a $198.00 target price (up from $188.00) on shares of Allstate in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Wells Fargo & Company set a $202.00 target price on shares of Allstate and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 5th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twelve have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $231.21.

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.