PYA Waltman Capital LLC Buys 818 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

PYA Waltman Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 6.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 13,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 818 shares during the period. PYA Waltman Capital LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $1,866,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 152.7% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 168 shares during the period. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. purchased a new position in Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth about $48,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allstate news, insider John E. Dugenske sold 31,000 shares of the company’s 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 completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 63,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,847,016.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, insider John E. Dugenske sold 31,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.20, for a total transaction of $5,276,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 63,731 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,847,016.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $1,712,069.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $164.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 25th. Raymond James raised their target price on shares of Allstate from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, January 22nd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $181.00 to $189.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. HSBC upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $158.00 to $190.00 in a report on Thursday, March 28th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.71.

Allstate Trading Up 1.5 %

ALL traded up $2.49 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $172.55. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 351,458 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,652,401. The company has a current ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $100.57 and a 52-week high of $176.93. The firm has a market cap of $45.39 billion, a P/E ratio of -137.13, a PEG ratio of 0.41 and a beta of 0.52. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $165.45 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $150.37.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $5.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $1.95. Allstate had a negative net margin of 0.33% and a positive return on equity of 2.67%. The company had revenue of $14.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.36) earnings per share. Allstate’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 13.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a dividend of $0.92 per share. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 1st. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently -296.77%.

About Allstate

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.