Daiwa Securities Group Inc. Has $12.89 Million Stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 21.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 66,855 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,606 shares during the period. Daiwa Securities Group Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $12,889,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ALL. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE ALL opened at $199.00 on Tuesday. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $156.45 and a 1 year high of $209.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market cap of $52.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.71, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $190.89 and a 200-day moving average price of $191.95.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALL has been the topic of a number of research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.