Townsquare Capital LLC Purchases 2,155 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 52.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,155 shares during the period. Townsquare Capital LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $1,210,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. MML Investors Services LLC increased its holdings in Allstate by 5.6% in the third quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 7,039 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,335,000 after purchasing an additional 371 shares during the period. McIlrath & Eck LLC increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 22.8% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 138 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC raised its position in shares of Allstate by 104.2% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 5,728 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the third quarter worth approximately $2,836,000. Finally, Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its holdings in Allstate by 5.3% in the third quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,776 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,095,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Allstate

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

Allstate Price Performance

ALL stock opened at $194.61 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $51.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $156.66 and a 52-week high of $212.91. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $197.17 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36.

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

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.06%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price target on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.27.

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.