The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Stock Position Boosted by Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.

Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc. boosted its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 18.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 123,700 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 19,200 shares during the period. Allstate accounts for 0.9% of Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest holding. Adams Diversified Equity Fund Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $23,848,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,496,306 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,190,758,000 after purchasing an additional 126,922 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,228,581 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,178,164,000 after purchasing an additional 74,537 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,834,172 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $353,610,000 after purchasing an additional 19,463 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 15,062.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,119,129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $215,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,748 shares in the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 11.8% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 933,352 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $177,010,000 after purchasing an additional 98,179 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 value of $7,480,226.06. Following 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Allstate Price Performance

NYSE ALL opened at $210.20 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.94. 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 capitalization of $55.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $156.66 and a 52-week high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS 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 research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.90%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

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.