The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Acquired by Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC

Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 17.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 362,954 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 54,227 shares during the quarter. Worldquant Millennium Advisors LLC owned 0.14% of Allstate worth $69,974,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 0.8% during the 4th quarter. William B. Walkup & Associates Inc. now owns 23,137 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $4,461,000 after purchasing an additional 195 shares during the period. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 3,820 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $736,000 after purchasing an additional 374 shares during the period. Vident Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 7.3% during the 4th quarter. Vident Advisory LLC now owns 8,635 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,665,000 after purchasing an additional 589 shares during the period. WBI Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $2,155,000. Finally, Texas Bank & Trust Co purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,193,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Allstate Stock Up 0.4%

NYSE ALL opened at $209.90 on Tuesday. The Allstate Co. has a 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $212.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $199.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $195.93. The firm has a market cap of $55.59 billion, a PE ratio of 12.35, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 EPS 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.41 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $5.13 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate's payout ratio is currently 27.32%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on ALL. Argus upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Barclays decreased their target price on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $225.20.

Allstate Company Profile

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.

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