The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Holdings Boosted by Meridian Wealth Management LLC

Meridian Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 75.1% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 2,217 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 951 shares during the period. Meridian Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $427,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 18.7% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 123,791 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $23,866,000 after buying an additional 19,473 shares during the last quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Modera Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $504,000 after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 28.0% during the fourth quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the period. Norden Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $203,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 15.4% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 1,620 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $312,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company’s 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $199.65 on Thursday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $190.58 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.47. 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 12-month low of $154.76 and a 12-month high of $209.88. The company has a market cap of $52.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm 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 is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.