Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. Sells 24,499 Shares of The Allstate Corporation $ALL

Key Points

• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group trimmed its Allstate stake by 3.7%, selling 24,499 shares in Q4 and now holds 642,655 shares (about 0.25% of Allstate) valued at roughly $133.77 million.
• Allstate beat Q4 expectations with EPS of $14.31 (vs. $8.72 est.) and revenue of $17.35B, posting a 15.19% net margin and 39.2% ROE; analysts forecast about $18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Allstate raised its quarterly dividend to $1.08 (annualized $4.32, ~2.0% yield), and the stock carries a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” with an average target price of $238.65 (3 Strong Buy, 7 Buy, 9 Hold, 1 Sell).

Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. decreased its holdings in shares of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 3.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 642,655 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 24,499 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. owned about 0.25% of Allstate worth $133,769,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the business. State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Allstate by 0.7% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,859,517 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,557,362,000 after acquiring an additional 85,468 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Allstate by 14.9% during the 3rd quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,050,780 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $654,652,000 after acquiring an additional 395,195 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Allstate by 3.3% during the 2nd quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,793,645 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $562,388,000 after acquiring an additional 88,620 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Allstate by 18.2% during the 3rd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,606,451 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $559,435,000 after acquiring an additional 401,700 shares during the period. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc grew its position in shares of Allstate by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 2,011,214 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $431,707,000 after acquiring an additional 126,401 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALL. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $260.00 price objective on shares of Allstate in a research report on Tuesday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $260.00 to $263.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a "neutral" rating and set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Allstate in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $254.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 10th. Finally, Evercore set a $225.00 price objective on shares of Allstate in a research report on Wednesday, January 7th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $238.65.

Allstate Stock Up 1.9%

ALL opened at $215.07 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.26, a quick ratio of 0.37 and a current ratio of 0.37. The Allstate Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $184.62 and a fifty-two week high of $216.75. The firm's fifty day moving average is $208.03 and its 200 day moving average is $205.39. The stock has a market cap of $55.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 5.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.22.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $1.08 per share. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 2nd. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.0%. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 11.31%.

Allstate 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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