Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. Raises Stock Position in The Allstate Corporation $ALL

Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc. grew its holdings in shares of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) by 29.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 36,173 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 8,219 shares during the quarter. Beacon Investment Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $7,765,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc. now owns 23,573 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $4,745,000 after acquiring an additional 704 shares during the last quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Allstate by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Knights of Columbus Asset Advisors LLC now owns 53,802 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $10,831,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959 shares during the last quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC raised its position in Allstate by 103.5% in the 2nd quarter. Commonwealth Retirement Investments LLC now owns 12,960 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $2,609,000 after purchasing an additional 6,590 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI bought a new stake in Allstate in the first quarter worth about $22,405,000. Finally, Advisors Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the first quarter valued at approximately $301,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

ALL opened at $207.82 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $54.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 6.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.38 and a beta of 0.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.43, a current ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.32. The Allstate Corporation has a 52-week low of $176.00 and a 52-week high of $215.89. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $204.25 and its 200-day moving average price is $202.52.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, November 5th. The insurance provider reported $11.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.48 by $5.69. Allstate had a return on equity of 35.42% and a net margin of 12.53%.The firm had revenue of $17.26 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.59 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $3.91 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Allstate Corporation will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 2nd. Investors of record on Monday, December 1st will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, December 1st. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.9%. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 12.95%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Suren Gupta sold 3,786 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.13, for a total transaction of $814,482.18. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 100,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,651,973.98. This trade represents a 3.63% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold 28,807 shares of company stock worth $6,198,726 over the last quarter. 1.70% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on ALL. Roth Capital increased their price target on Allstate from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 26th. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Allstate to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $246.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 11th. William Blair lowered Allstate from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Allstate from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 6th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.93.

About Allstate

Allstate Corporation is a publicly traded insurance company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, and is one of the largest personal lines property and casualty insurers in the United States. Founded in 1931 as a subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck and Co, Allstate has grown into a diversified insurer that serves millions of consumers and businesses through a mix of distribution channels and product offerings.

The company underwrites a broad range of insurance products, with primary emphasis on auto and homeowners coverage.