Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC Invests $537,000 in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Woodmont Investment Counsel LLC purchased a new stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 2,787 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $537,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Apella Capital LLC raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Allstate by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. increased its stake in Allstate by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Allstate by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $270,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the period. Finally, EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Allstate by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,505 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $290,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $207.51 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $55.00 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $212.91. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $194.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.27. 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 posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Barclays cut their target price on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

Insider Activity

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

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.