Natural Investments LLC Purchases New Shares in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Natural Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 6,226 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,200,000.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALL has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on shares of Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays lowered their target price on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE:ALL opened at $202.25 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $53.60 billion, a PE ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $209.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $191.08 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.10.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 year.

Allstate announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.54%.

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.