Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp Sells 94 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lessened its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 0.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,193 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 94 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp’s holdings in Allstate were worth $6,207,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have commented on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted 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 dropped their price target on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.80.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $186.74 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $197.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.38. The Allstate Co. has a twelve month low of $156.66 and a twelve month high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

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

Insider Activity

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

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.