Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC Invests $1.23 Million in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Gilliland Jeter Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 8,775 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,228,000.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the third quarter worth $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 152.7% during the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares in the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $43,000. Finally, First Command Advisory Services Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the third quarter worth $48,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In related news, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total value of $637,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 10,736 shares in the company, valued at $1,712,069.92. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider John E. Dugenske sold 31,000 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.20, for a total transaction of $5,276,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 63,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,847,016.20. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $637,880.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 10,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,712,069.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALL traded down $2.27 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $170.07. 1,279,038 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,336,406. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $100.57 and a 1 year high of $176.93. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $165.09 and a 200 day simple moving average of $149.38.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $5.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $1.95. The firm had revenue of $14.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.69 billion. Allstate had a negative net margin of 0.33% and a positive return on equity of 2.67%. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.36) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 13.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.16%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently -296.77%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Roth Mkm boosted their target price on shares of Allstate from $175.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $180.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 9th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $166.00 to $173.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $171.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 12th. Finally, HSBC upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $158.00 to $190.00 in a research note on Thursday, March 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $173.71.

Allstate 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.