Legal & General Group Plc Acquires 126,401 Shares of The Allstate Corporation $ALL

Key Points

• Legal & General Group Plc increased its stake in The Allstate Corporation by 6.7% in Q3, buying 126,401 shares to hold 2,011,214 shares (about 0.77%) valued at roughly $431.7 million.
• Allstate beat expectations with quarterly EPS of $14.31 (vs. $8.72 est.) and $17.35 billion in revenue, and the company raised its quarterly dividend to $1.08 (annualized $4.32, yield 2.1%), ex-dividend March 2 and payable April 1.

Legal & General Group Plc increased its holdings in The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 6.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,011,214 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 126,401 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.77% of Allstate worth $431,707,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALL. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Allstate by 79.7% during the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 124 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 112.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barnes Dennig Private Wealth Management LLC now owns 138 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 73 shares during the period. Clearstead Trust LLC increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 3,800.0% in the second quarter. Clearstead Trust LLC now owns 156 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. raised its holdings in Allstate by 72.0% during the third quarter. Armstrong Advisory Group Inc. now owns 160 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Finally, Steigerwald Gordon & Koch Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the third quarter valued at about $37,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Allstate Stock Down 0.1%

NYSE ALL opened at $207.44 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26. The Allstate Corporation has a 52 week low of $176.00 and a 52 week high of $216.75. The firm has a market capitalization of $53.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.43, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a fifty day moving average of $204.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $204.66.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 4th. The insurance provider reported $14.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $8.72 by $5.59. The firm had revenue of $17.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.23 billion. Allstate had a net margin of 15.19% and a return on equity of 39.20%. The business's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $7.67 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Allstate Corporation will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 2nd will be given a dividend of $1.08 per share. This represents a $4.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.1%. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 2nd. Allstate's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 11.31%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other news, insider Suren Gupta sold 19,593 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, January 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.00, for a total value of $4,114,530.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 100,646 shares in the company, valued at approximately $21,135,660. This represents a 16.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ALL shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $260.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 5th. TD Cowen cut shares of Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, January 12th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $228.00 to $227.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 20th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Allstate from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Allstate from $255.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, February 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, eight have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $238.88.

Allstate Company Profile

Allstate Corporation is a publicly traded insurance company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, and is one of the largest personal lines property and casualty insurers in the United States. Founded in 1931 as a subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck and Co, Allstate has grown into a diversified insurer that serves millions of consumers and businesses through a mix of distribution channels and product offerings.

The company underwrites a broad range of insurance products, with primary emphasis on auto and homeowners coverage.

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