Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp Acquires 7,945 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp raised its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 4.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 187,254 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,945 shares during the quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Allstate worth $36,101,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allstate Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:ALL opened at $209.16 on Thursday. The Allstate Co. has a 12 month low of $156.66 and a 12 month high of $212.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $195.10 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $193.54.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 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%. Analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. 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 dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.54%.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALL. Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted 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. Barclays reduced their price target on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.