Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. Raises Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc. grew its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 1.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 66,678 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 802 shares during the quarter. Cookson Peirce & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $12,855,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the third quarter worth $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth $57,000. 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 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 completion of 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Trading Down 1.4 %

Allstate stock opened at $199.14 on Wednesday. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $154.76 and a 1 year high of $209.88. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $190.50 and its 200-day moving average price is $191.41. 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 stock has a market cap of $52.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.72, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. On average, equities analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share 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 repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALL. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, 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 research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

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.