Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Acquires 42,489 Shares of The Allstate Corporation $ALL

Key Points

• Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Allstate by 21%, purchasing 42,489 shares to hold 245,285 shares worth $51.03 million (about 0.09% of the company).
• Insider Suren Gupta sold 19,593 shares on Jan. 7 at an average price of $210 for $4.11 million, reducing his ownership by 16.3% to 100,646 shares.
• Allstate reported quarterly EPS of $14.31 (vs. $8.72 expected) on $17.35 billion revenue and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.08 (annualized $4.32, yield 2.1%); analysts' consensus is a "Moderate Buy" with a $237.94 target.

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 245,285 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 42,489 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC owned about 0.09% of Allstate worth $51,032,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ALL. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Allstate by 79.7% in the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 112.3% during the third quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 138 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Palisade Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate in the third quarter worth $31,000. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Allstate by 72.0% in the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 160 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Finally, South Plains Financial Inc. boosted its holdings in Allstate by 41.5% in the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 167 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other news, insider Suren Gupta sold 19,593 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $4,114,530.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 100,646 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $21,135,660. This represents a 16.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALL has been the subject of several research reports. Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Allstate in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $220.00 target price on shares of Allstate in a research note on Thursday, February 5th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $216.00 to $221.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $231.00 price objective on shares of Allstate in a report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 20th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have assigned a Buy rating, eight have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $237.94.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of ALL opened at $207.67 on Tuesday. The Allstate Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $176.00 and a fifty-two week high of $216.75. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $204.23 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $204.78. The stock has a market cap of $53.90 billion, a PE ratio of 5.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $14.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $8.72 by $5.59. The firm had revenue of $17.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.23 billion. Allstate had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 39.20%. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $7.67 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that The Allstate Corporation will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be issued a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.1%. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 2nd. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.31%.

About Allstate

Allstate Corporation is a publicly traded insurance company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, and is one of the largest personal lines property and casualty insurers in the United States. Founded in 1931 as a subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck and Co, Allstate has grown into a diversified insurer that serves millions of consumers and businesses through a mix of distribution channels and product offerings.

The company underwrites a broad range of insurance products, with primary emphasis on auto and homeowners coverage.

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