Two Sigma Investments LP Sells 277,967 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Two Sigma Investments LP lowered its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 67.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 137,050 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 277,967 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned 0.05% of Allstate worth $26,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Trading Down 1.4%

Shares of ALL stock opened at $205.26 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.08, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. 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 Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $199.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.08.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.41 billion. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. Allstate's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $5.13 earnings per share. Research analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.95%. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 27.32%.

Allstate announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALL. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays cut their price target on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Argus raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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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