Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC Purchases 2,292 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 479,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,292 shares during the quarter. Brandywine Global Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $92,394,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Barclays reduced their price target on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.80.

Allstate Trading Down 1.4 %

Allstate stock opened at $206.46 on Friday. 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 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $212.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $195.81 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.85. The company has a market capitalization of $54.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

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

Allstate announced that its board has approved a share 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 buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.54%.

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.