Assenagon Asset Management S.A. Boosts Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 67.0% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,068 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 88,276 shares during the quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. owned approximately 0.08% of Allstate worth $45,569,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Allstate by 1,664.3% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 17,961 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $3,719,000 after purchasing an additional 16,943 shares during the period. First National Bank of Mount Dora Trust Investment Services bought a new position in Allstate in the 1st quarter worth about $2,963,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Allstate by 21.3% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 6,152 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,274,000 after purchasing an additional 1,082 shares during the period. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC boosted its stake in Allstate by 30.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 1,895 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $392,000 after purchasing an additional 439 shares during the period. Finally, Pallas Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 1st quarter valued at about $749,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Allstate Trading Up 0.2%

Allstate stock traded up $0.49 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $199.41. The company had a trading volume of 1,199,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,613,580. 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 company has a 50-day moving average price of $200.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.80. The firm has a market cap of $52.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.74, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.35. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $213.18.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 period last year, the firm earned $5.13 earnings per share. Equities 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Allstate's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 27.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on ALL shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their price target on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Allstate in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.