The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Stock Position Decreased by Independent Advisor Alliance

Independent Advisor Alliance decreased its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 2.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 19,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 535 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Allstate were worth $3,849,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. United Bank bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the third quarter worth $228,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Allstate by 2.7% during the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the third quarter worth about $284,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Allstate by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $475,000 after acquiring an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Up 1.8 %

ALL opened at $202.25 on Wednesday. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $209.88. The company has a market capitalization of $53.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $191.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.10.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. On average, 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. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.54%.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.94.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, 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 legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.