Alerus Financial NA Buys Shares of 4,582 The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Alerus Financial NA bought a new stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 4,582 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $883,000.

A number of other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Allstate has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.94.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE:ALL opened at $209.38 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $195.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.65.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. Research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.