The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Stock Position Lifted by Shell Asset Management Co.

Shell Asset Management Co. grew its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 49.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 26,655 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 8,799 shares during the period. Shell Asset Management Co.'s holdings in Allstate were worth $5,139,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. Brookstone Capital Management grew its position in Allstate by 63.0% in the fourth quarter. Brookstone Capital Management now owns 10,498 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,024,000 after acquiring an additional 4,059 shares in the last quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC grew its position in Allstate by 10.6% in the fourth quarter. Miracle Mile Advisors LLC now owns 3,714 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $716,000 after acquiring an additional 355 shares in the last quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Allstate by 4.1% in the fourth quarter. SeaCrest Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,645 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $317,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth approximately $449,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Allstate by 24.3% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 131,792 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $25,408,000 after acquiring an additional 25,767 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on ALL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Allstate in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Allstate currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.20.

Allstate Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of NYSE ALL opened at $205.10 on Friday. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $199.34 and its 200 day simple moving average is $195.49. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $212.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.31 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 in the prior year, the company earned $5.13 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is currently 27.32%.

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.

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