Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH Invests $34.35 Million in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH purchased a new stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 178,172 shares of the insurance provider's stock, valued at approximately $34,350,000. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH owned approximately 0.07% of Allstate as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently commented on ALL. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Raymond James reissued a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $250.00 target price (up from $240.00) on shares of Allstate in a research note on Monday, May 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued 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 an average price target of $225.20.

Allstate Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of ALL traded up $2.89 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $209.65. The company had a trading volume of 2,491,873 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,611,680. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $199.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.68. The Allstate Co. has a 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $212.91. The company has a market capitalization of $55.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last issued 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). 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 the consensus estimate of $16.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $5.13 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. Allstate's payout ratio is currently 27.32%.

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.