The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Purchased by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ grew its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 78.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 178,223 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 78,194 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Allstate were worth $34,317,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Peoples Bank KS bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE:ALL opened at $202.00 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $53.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.89, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $191.39 and its 200-day moving average is $192.21. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $156.66 and a 52-week high of $209.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36.

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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALL has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. 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 report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted 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 analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate presently 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.