Sheets Smith Investment Management Makes New Investment in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Sheets Smith Investment Management purchased a new position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 8,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,658,000. Allstate makes up approximately 1.4% of Sheets Smith Investment Management’s portfolio, making the stock its 21st biggest holding.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the business. Apella Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Allstate by 1.9% in the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $571,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 4.6% during the fourth quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 4.4% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $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 available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALL opened at $206.60 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $54.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. 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 Allstate Co. has a 1-year low of $156.66 and a 1-year high of $212.91. The business’s 50 day moving average is $193.75 and its 200-day moving average is $193.12.

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

Allstate declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALL has been the subject of several recent research reports. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. 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 assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

Allstate Company 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.