Argyle Capital Management LLC Purchases 183 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Argyle Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 15,518 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 183 shares during the period. Argyle Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $2,992,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the third quarter valued at $29,000. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $53,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Allstate from $220.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

Allstate Stock Up 3.5 %

ALL stock opened at $195.01 on Friday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $190.15 and a 200 day moving average of $190.71. The firm has a market cap of $51.68 billion, a PE ratio of 11.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The Allstate Co. has a twelve month low of $153.87 and a twelve month high of $209.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. On average, research analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 21.66%.

Allstate declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate 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.