Natural Investments LLC Makes New $1.20 Million Investment in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Natural Investments LLC acquired a new stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund acquired 6,226 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,200,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $57,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have commented on ALL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Allstate has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE ALL opened at $202.25 on Wednesday. The company 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 stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $191.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.10. The Allstate Co. has a 1-year low of $156.66 and a 1-year high of $209.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced 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%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

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

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

Allstate 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.