The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Sold by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada lowered its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 1.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 707,799 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 11,948 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada owned approximately 0.27% of Allstate worth $136,456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Allstate by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 93,422 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $18,011,000 after buying an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Raiffeisen Bank International AG acquired a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $12,135,000. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $1,188,000. Polar Capital Holdings Plc raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 72,498 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $13,977,000 after purchasing an additional 8,458 shares during the period. Finally, ProShare Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Allstate by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC now owns 65,794 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $12,684,000 after purchasing an additional 5,806 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Allstate Stock Down 1.4%

Shares of ALL stock traded down $2.87 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $202.44. 1,179,990 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,612,798. The company has a market capitalization of $53.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.92, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $199.78 and its 200 day simple moving average is $196.08. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $5.13 EPS. Allstate's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program 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 programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.32%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Allstate from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Argus raised shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price 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.