1,786,161 Shares in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Bought by Norges Bank

Norges Bank bought a new stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm bought 1,786,161 shares of the insurance provider’s stock, valued at approximately $344,354,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate in the third quarter worth $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of ALL stock opened at $206.46 on Friday. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. 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 company has a 50 day moving average of $195.81 and a 200-day moving average of $193.85. The firm has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate declared that its board has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is 23.54%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’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 value 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays cut 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. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.80.

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.