Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. Takes $3.08 Million Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 21,980 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $3,077,000. Allstate comprises about 2.8% of Alexander Randolph Advisory Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 13th biggest position.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of ALL. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 152.7% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC bought a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. bought a new position in Allstate in the third quarter worth approximately $48,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on ALL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Allstate from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on Allstate from $166.00 to $173.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. HSBC raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $158.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Allstate from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. Finally, TheStreet raised Allstate from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $173.71.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $637,880.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,712,069.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, insider John E. Dugenske sold 31,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.20, for a total transaction of $5,276,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 63,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,847,016.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $637,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,712,069.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of ALL traded down $2.27 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $170.07. 1,279,038 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,336,406. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $100.57 and a 1 year high of $176.93. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $165.09 and its 200-day moving average is $149.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $5.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $1.95. The company had revenue of $14.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.69 billion. Allstate had a positive return on equity of 2.67% and a negative net margin of 0.33%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($1.36) EPS. Research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 13.44 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.16%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -296.77%.

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.