Essex Financial Services Inc. Boosts Stock Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Essex Financial Services Inc. raised its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 2.8% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 250 shares during the period. Essex Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $1,771,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 3rd quarter valued at $28,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $57,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Stock Up 1.6 %

Allstate stock opened at $189.50 on Wednesday. The Allstate Co. has a 52 week low of $153.87 and a 52 week high of $209.88. The firm has a market cap of $50.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.47 and a beta of 0.52. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $192.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.34. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, January 2nd. Shareholders of record on Friday, November 29th were given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, November 29th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.66%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on ALL shares. Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. 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. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $216.00 to $233.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Allstate has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

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.