Becker Capital Management Inc. Decreases Stock Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Becker Capital Management Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 2.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 196,175 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 3,997 shares during the quarter. Allstate comprises about 1.2% of Becker Capital Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest position. Becker Capital Management Inc. owned about 0.07% of Allstate worth $38,003,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Allstate by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 577,934 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $109,605,000 after purchasing an additional 28,584 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Allstate by 117.3% during the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 58,600 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,297,000 after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in Allstate by 10.5% in the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 508,664 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $98,065,000 after purchasing an additional 48,382 shares during the period. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 401,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $77,413,000 after buying an additional 100,311 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE:ALL opened at $198.85 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.72 billion, a PE ratio of 11.70, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The company has a fifty day moving average of $197.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $194.77. 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 fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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, research analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business 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 represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate's payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its board has approved a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have weighed in on ALL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods reduced their target price on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com cut shares of Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Argus raised shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.27.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.

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