Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Acquires 749 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. boosted its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 3.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 24,078 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 749 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $4,642,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $53,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE ALL opened at $207.68 on Friday. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.72 and a 200 day simple moving average of $192.38. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $209.88. 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 company has a market cap of $55.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.22, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management 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. 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 1.93%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

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 directly 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 sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.94.

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.