Donaldson Capital Management LLC Purchases 343 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Donaldson Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 313,180 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 343 shares during the period. Allstate accounts for 2.3% of Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 15th biggest holding. Donaldson Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $60,378,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALL. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC raised its stake in Allstate by 15,062.3% during the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,119,129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $215,757,000 after buying an additional 1,111,748 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its stake in Allstate by 69.7% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 708,098 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $136,514,000 after purchasing an additional 290,858 shares in the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in Allstate by 22,981.9% in the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 269,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,887,000 after purchasing an additional 267,969 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in Allstate by 291.9% in the third quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 356,065 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $67,528,000 after purchasing an additional 265,213 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Prana Capital Management LP increased its stake in Allstate by 539.9% in the third quarter. Prana Capital Management LP now owns 273,655 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,899,000 after purchasing an additional 230,893 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Down 0.9 %

Allstate stock opened at $199.00 on Tuesday. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $156.45 and a fifty-two week high of $209.88. The stock has a market cap of $52.74 billion, a PE ratio of 11.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.89 and its 200 day simple moving average is $191.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36.

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%. Research analysts predict 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Allstate’s payout ratio is 23.54%.

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on ALL. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.94.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Allstate

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.