The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Sold by Groupama Asset Managment

Groupama Asset Managment lowered its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 4.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 13,319 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 589 shares during the quarter. Groupama Asset Managment’s holdings in Allstate were worth $2,565,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. United Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the third quarter valued at $209,000. FMR LLC boosted its stake in Allstate by 11.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 933,352 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $177,010,000 after buying an additional 98,179 shares during the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Allstate by 9.6% in the 3rd quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 4,123 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $782,000 after buying an additional 360 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 110.7% during the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 3,454 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $655,000 after acquiring an additional 1,815 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays cut their target price on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. StockNews.com downgraded Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Finally, 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. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.80.

Allstate Stock Performance

Allstate stock opened at $207.45 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $196.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.20. The firm has a market capitalization of $54.98 billion, a PE ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its earnings results 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, sell-side analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback 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 shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.93%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

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.