Baird Financial Group Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Baird Financial Group Inc. reduced its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 3.8% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 43,287 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,698 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Allstate were worth $8,345,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bank of America Corp DE grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 157.9% during the 4th quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,591,138 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,270,705,000 after purchasing an additional 4,035,629 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $344,354,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,316,516 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $832,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685,694 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 15,062.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,119,129 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $215,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,748 shares during the period. Finally, Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $143,165,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Stock Performance

ALL traded down $0.26 on Monday, hitting $202.38. 1,331,557 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,615,418. The Allstate Co. has a 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $212.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.59 billion, a PE ratio of 11.91, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $199.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $195.19. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 firm had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.41 billion. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. Allstate's quarterly revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $5.13 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ALL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Allstate from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $225.20.

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.