Morton Community Bank Purchases 145 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Morton Community Bank increased its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 0.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 20,435 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 145 shares during the period. Allstate accounts for about 1.0% of Morton Community Bank’s portfolio, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Morton Community Bank’s holdings in Allstate were worth $3,940,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in Allstate by 15,062.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,119,129 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $215,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,748 shares in the last quarter. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the third quarter worth $77,819,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 688.4% in the third quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 460,282 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $87,292,000 after purchasing an additional 401,901 shares during the last quarter. National Pension Service increased its holdings in Allstate by 69.7% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 708,098 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $136,514,000 after buying an additional 290,858 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Allstate by 22,981.9% during the fourth quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC now owns 269,135 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $51,887,000 after purchasing an additional 267,969 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of ALL opened at $200.87 on Monday. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $155.59 and a 1 year high of $209.88. The company has a market cap of $53.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $190.76 and a 200-day moving average of $191.82.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.99%. Allstate’s payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

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.