Natural Investments LLC Trims Stake in The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL)

Key Points

• Natural Investments LLC reduced its stake in The Allstate Corporation by 43.1%, resulting in ownership of 3,542 shares valued at approximately $733,000.
• Institutional investors have been active, with Bank of America increasing its stake by 157.9%, now holding 6.59 million shares worth about $1.27 billion.
• The Allstate Corporation reported a quarterly earnings per share of $5.94, exceeding estimates by $2.74, but its revenue of $15.05 billion fell short of analyst expectations.

Natural Investments LLC cut its holdings in shares of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 43.1% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,542 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 2,684 shares during the quarter. Natural Investments LLC's holdings in Allstate were worth $733,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hughes Financial Services LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 1st quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda bought a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Allstate by 113.8% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 186 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Allstate in the 1st quarter worth about $43,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Trading Up 0.8%

ALL traded up $1.71 on Friday, hitting $206.71. 1,189,406 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,767,227. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.37, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a current ratio of 0.43. The Allstate Corporation has a 12 month low of $169.95 and a 12 month high of $213.18. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $198.37 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $197.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.47 billion, a PE ratio of 9.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.87 and a beta of 0.35.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The insurance provider reported $5.94 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.20 by $2.74. Allstate had a net margin of 8.79% and a return on equity of 28.74%. The company had revenue of $15.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.59 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.61 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that The Allstate Corporation will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 29th will be given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 29th. Allstate's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 18.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $245.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. Barclays reiterated an "underweight" rating and issued a $198.00 price objective (up previously from $188.00) on shares of Allstate in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $260.00 target price (up from $250.00) on shares of Allstate in a research note on Monday. William Blair initiated coverage on Allstate in a report on Friday, June 6th. They issued a "sector outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Allstate from $237.00 to $246.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $230.00.

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.