Simplicity Solutions LLC Increases Stock Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 827 shares during the period. Simplicity Solutions LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $699,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. bought a new stake in Allstate in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cowa LLC bought a new stake in Allstate in the 1st quarter worth approximately $30,000. RVW Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $33,000. Finally, Chilton Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Allstate in the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Stock Down 0.8 %

Shares of ALL stock opened at $162.92 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $42.86 billion, a P/E ratio of -131.39, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.52. The Allstate Co. has a 52 week low of $100.57 and a 52 week high of $174.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $163.44 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $146.44.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $5.82 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $1.95. The business had revenue of $14.83 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.69 billion. Allstate had a negative net margin of 0.33% and a positive return on equity of 2.67%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.36) EPS. Analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 13.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.26%. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently -296.77%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $637,880.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,736 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,712,069.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, insider John E. Dugenske sold 31,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.20, for a total value of $5,276,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 63,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,847,016.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $637,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,712,069.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $171.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $164.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 25th. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $145.00 to $146.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.71.

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.