The Allstate Corporation $ALL Shares Bought by Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co

Key Points

• Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in Allstate by 11.9% in Q4 to 61,200 shares, valued at about $12.74 million.
• COO Mario Rizzo sold 18,578 Allstate shares on May 1 for roughly $4.06 million, cutting his holding by 18.43% to 82,227 shares.
• Allstate posted a strong quarter with $10.65 EPS (vs. $7.31 estimate) and $16.94 billion in revenue, and raised its quarterly dividend to $1.08 (annualized $4.32, ~2.0% yield).

Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co increased its stake in shares of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 11.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 61,200 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 6,500 shares during the quarter. Varma Mutual Pension Insurance Co's holdings in Allstate were worth $12,739,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALL. South Plains Financial Inc. lifted its position in Allstate by 41.5% in the third quarter. South Plains Financial Inc. now owns 167 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Humankind Investments LLC lifted its position in Allstate by 4.5% in the third quarter. Humankind Investments LLC now owns 1,191 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $256,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Howard Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Allstate by 3.2% in the third quarter. Howard Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,739 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $373,000 after purchasing an additional 54 shares during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Allstate by 4.7% in the third quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. lifted its position in Allstate by 10.2% in the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 596 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related news, COO Mario Rizzo sold 18,578 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.80, for a total value of $4,064,866.40. Following the sale, the chief operating officer owned 82,227 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $17,991,267.60. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.55% of the company's stock.

Allstate Price Performance

ALL stock opened at $219.68 on Tuesday. The Allstate Corporation has a 1 year low of $188.08 and a 1 year high of $221.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $210.35 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.85. The firm has a market cap of $56.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.85, a PEG ratio of 0.43 and a beta of 0.21.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last posted its 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 return on equity of 42.66% and a net margin of 17.81%.The firm had revenue of $16.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.53 EPS. Allstate's revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Allstate Corporation will post 26.35 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 2nd were paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 2nd. This is an increase from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $1.00. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is currently 9.53%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALL. Cantor Fitzgerald restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $220.00 price objective on shares of Allstate in a research report on Thursday, February 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $231.00 price objective on shares of Allstate in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Allstate from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Allstate from $227.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $240.56.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.