Mediolanum International Funds Ltd Boosts Stock Holdings in The Allstate Corporation $ALL

Key Points

• Mediolanum International Funds Ltd boosted its stake in Allstate by 83.8% in the first quarter, buying 9,866 additional shares and bringing its total holding to 21,634 shares worth about $4.48 million.
• Allstate beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $10.65 EPS versus the $7.31 consensus and revenue of $16.94 billion, while analysts now see a consensus price target of $254.80 with a “Moderate Buy” rating.
• The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $1.08 per share, payable Oct. 1, which equals an annualized payout of $4.32 and a dividend yield of 1.7%.

Mediolanum International Funds Ltd increased its position in shares of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 83.8% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 21,634 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 9,866 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd's holdings in Allstate were worth $4,484,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Allstate by 2.9% in the first quarter. Bartlett & CO. Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,622 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,116,000 after buying an additional 267 shares in the last quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 28.7% in the 1st quarter. Heartland Bank & Trust Co now owns 3,361 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 750 shares in the last quarter. Zhang Financial LLC increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 6.1% in the 1st quarter. Zhang Financial LLC now owns 2,487 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $516,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. FSA Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Allstate in the 1st quarter worth about $336,000. Finally, Kera Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in Allstate by 14.8% during the first quarter. Kera Capital Partners Inc. now owns 1,166 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $242,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ALL. Citigroup raised their price objective on Allstate from $221.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, May 1st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $203.00 to $213.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 7th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $255.00 to $261.00 in a report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Allstate from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $254.80.

Allstate Trading Up 1.5%

Shares of ALL stock opened at $253.73 on Tuesday. The Allstate Corporation has a 1-year low of $188.08 and a 1-year high of $257.67. The firm has a market cap of $65.32 billion, a PE ratio of 5.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.16. The company has a 50-day moving average of $228.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $10.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.31 by $3.34. Allstate had a net margin of 17.81% and a return on equity of 42.66%. The business had revenue of $16.94 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $15.24 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. The business's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that The Allstate Corporation will post 30.4 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. Allstate's payout ratio is presently 9.53%.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other Allstate news, insider Mark Q. Prindiville sold 1,550 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $216.27, for a total value of $335,218.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 27,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,959,968.66. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, COO Mario Rizzo sold 18,578 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.80, for a total transaction of $4,064,866.40. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 82,227 shares in the company, valued at $17,991,267.60. This trade represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 22,353 shares of company stock worth $4,851,560 in the last three months. 1.55% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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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