Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. Purchases Shares of 2,712 The Allstate Corporation $ALL

Meridian Investment Counsel Inc. acquired a new position in shares of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 2,712 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $562,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth about $531,294,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Allstate by 36.0% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,488,560 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,142,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,452,993 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 29.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 5,007,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,042,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,172 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 1,766.9% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 869,139 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $180,911,000 after buying an additional 822,583 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $148,641,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allstate news, Director Andrea Redmond sold 2,225 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.91, for a total value of $451,474.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,225 shares in the company, valued at approximately $451,474.75. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Mario Rizzo sold 18,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.80, for a total transaction of $4,064,866.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 82,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,991,267.60. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 22,353 shares of company stock valued at $4,851,560 in the last 90 days. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Allstate Trading Down 0.2%

Shares of ALL opened at $249.84 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $64.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.51, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.16. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $220.59 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $211.53. The Allstate Corporation has a 52-week low of $188.08 and a 52-week high of $250.38.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $10.65 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.31 by $3.34. Allstate had a return on equity of 42.66% and a net margin of 17.81%.The company had revenue of $16.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $3.53 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that The Allstate Corporation will post 29.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, June 1st were issued a dividend of $1.08 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, June 1st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 9.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on ALL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut Allstate from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $266.00 to $242.00 in a research report on Monday, June 8th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Allstate from $207.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 8th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Allstate from $281.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Allstate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (a-)” rating on shares of Allstate in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, ten have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $240.33.

Allstate Profile

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.