Ensign Peak Advisors Inc Reduces Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Ensign Peak Advisors Inc lessened its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 58.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 220,896 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 309,878 shares during the period. Ensign Peak Advisors Inc owned approximately 0.08% of Allstate worth $42,587,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Allstate by 117.3% during the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $944,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643 shares during the period. Hennessy Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Allstate by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 58,600 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $11,297,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC grew 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 valued at $98,065,000 after buying an additional 48,382 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its position in shares of Allstate by 33.3% during the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 401,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $77,413,000 after buying an additional 100,311 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its stake in Allstate by 56.0% during the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 186,792 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $36,012,000 after buying an additional 67,032 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Price Performance

Allstate stock traded up $0.07 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $202.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,077,460 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,344. The Allstate Co. has a 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $212.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The stock has a market cap of $53.64 billion, a PE ratio of 11.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $199.12 and a 200-day moving average price of $195.29.

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

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ALL shares. Argus upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $240.00) on shares of Allstate in a research report on Monday, May 5th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. One equities research 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 company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $225.20.

About Allstate

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.