The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company Purchases 184,947 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company boosted its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 68.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 454,655 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 184,947 shares during the period. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company owned 0.17% of Allstate worth $87,653,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $40,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. StockNews.com raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $221.60.

Allstate Stock Up 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:ALL traded up $1.91 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $199.15. 1,508,513 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,619,298. The company has a market cap of $52.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $198.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.45). Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. The business had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $5.13 earnings per share. Allstate's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Allstate's payout ratio is 27.32%.

Allstate announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.