The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Purchased by Nemes Rush Group LLC

Nemes Rush Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 7.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 57,317 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,155 shares during the period. Allstate comprises approximately 1.4% of Nemes Rush Group LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 25th biggest position. Nemes Rush Group LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $11,050,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the third quarter worth $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Allstate currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.80.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of Allstate stock opened at $207.14 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.19, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $196.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $194.06. 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 Allstate Co. has a 12 month low of $156.66 and a 12 month high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is 23.54%.

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.