Tower Research Capital LLC TRC Buys 5,093 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Tower Research Capital LLC TRC increased its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 34.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 19,962 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,093 shares during the period. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC's holdings in Allstate were worth $3,848,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its position in Allstate by 22.8% during the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $141,000 after purchasing an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allstate by 104.2% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 5,728 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,086,000 after buying an additional 2,923 shares during the period. Tudor Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Allstate in the third quarter valued at about $2,836,000. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,776 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 534.3% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 33,530 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,359,000 after buying an additional 28,244 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE ALL traded down $1.84 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $193.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,156,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,302. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $197.62 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.56. The stock has a market cap of $51.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.36, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. 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 fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. Equities analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have issued reports on ALL shares. Barclays reduced their target price 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. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their price objective on shares of Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Argus upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.27.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company 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.