Allegheny Financial Group Sells 1,438 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Allegheny Financial Group lessened its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 38.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,255 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,438 shares during the quarter. Allegheny Financial Group's holdings in Allstate were worth $435,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. Virtu Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allstate by 104.2% during the 3rd quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 5,728 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after acquiring an additional 2,923 shares in the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,776 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,095,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 534.3% during the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 33,530 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,359,000 after acquiring an additional 28,244 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its stake in Allstate by 457.5% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 9,249 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,754,000 after buying an additional 7,590 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC increased its holdings in Allstate by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 40,759 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,730,000 after purchasing an additional 8,977 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Price Performance

NYSE:ALL traded up $1.08 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $200.38. The stock had a trading volume of 1,292,704 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,617,797. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.49 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $194.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $53.13 billion, a PE ratio of 11.79, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The Allstate Co. has a 12 month low of $156.66 and a 12 month high of $212.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.41 billion. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $5.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.00%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Allstate's payout ratio is 27.32%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company boosted 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. StockNews.com upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allstate has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $223.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction 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 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate 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.