KCM Investment Advisors LLC Has $2.39 Million Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

KCM Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 5.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 12,378 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 611 shares during the quarter. KCM Investment Advisors LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $2,386,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. 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 MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.80.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of ALL stock opened at $186.74 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.99, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a 12 month low of $156.66 and a 12 month high of $212.91. 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 50-day moving average price of $197.37 and a 200 day moving average price of $194.35.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued 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%. 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. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.14%. 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 repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This 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 link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.