Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Raises Stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 479,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,292 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC owned 0.18% of Allstate worth $92,394,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Allstate in the third quarter worth $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company 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 report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.80.

Allstate Stock Down 1.4 %

Allstate stock opened at $206.46 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a PE ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a 50 day moving average of $195.81 and a 200-day moving average of $193.85. 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 Allstate Co. has a twelve month low of $156.66 and a twelve month high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback 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 repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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.