The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Acquired by Markel Group Inc.

Markel Group Inc. boosted its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 154,550 shares of the insurance provider's stock after purchasing an additional 13,000 shares during the period. Markel Group Inc. owned approximately 0.06% of Allstate worth $21,634,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the third quarter valued at $25,000. Turtle Creek Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 152.7% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 278 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 168 shares during the last quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Planned Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $53,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Stock Down 1.4 %

ALL traded down $2.34 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $170.00. 1,279,025 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,680,547. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The company has a market cap of $44.72 billion, a PE ratio of -137.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.42 and a beta of 0.52. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $100.57 and a one year high of $176.93. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $165.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $149.14.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $5.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $1.95. Allstate had a negative net margin of 0.33% and a positive return on equity of 2.67%. The business had revenue of $14.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $12.69 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.36) EPS. Allstate's quarterly revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 13.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 4th were given a $0.92 dividend. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 1st. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.16%. Allstate's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -296.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on ALL shares. Raymond James upped their price target on Allstate from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. UBS Group increased their price target on Allstate from $171.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, February 12th. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $172.00 to $188.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, April 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $172.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Allstate from $140.00 to $158.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $173.71.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other news, insider John E. Dugenske sold 31,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $170.20, for a total value of $5,276,200.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 63,731 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,847,016.20. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, insider John E. Dugenske sold 31,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $170.20, for a total transaction of $5,276,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 63,731 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,847,016.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total transaction of $637,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,712,069.92. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.

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