Athena Investment Management Decreases Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Athena Investment Management lessened its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 8.2% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,659 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 148 shares during the period. Athena Investment Management’s holdings in Allstate were worth $320,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth $29,000. Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $53,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $199.20 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $52.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $190.26 and its 200-day simple moving average is $190.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $153.87 and a fifty-two week high of $209.88.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping 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%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.01%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is 21.66%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company’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 transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Allstate from $216.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 4th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $217.94.

About Allstate

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.