Fulton Bank N.A. Increases Stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Fulton Bank N.A. lifted its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 73.6% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 4,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,969 shares during the quarter. Fulton Bank N.A.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $962,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on ALL. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. BMO Capital Markets restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Allstate in a report on Friday, May 16th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. One research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $225.20.

Allstate Stock Down 0.6%

Shares of Allstate stock opened at $211.41 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $55.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s 50 day moving average is $199.58 and its 200 day moving average is $196.97. The Allstate Co. has a twelve month low of $156.66 and a twelve month high of $213.25. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.45). Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. The business had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $5.13 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.89%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 27.32%.

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.