Soros Fund Management LLC Lowers Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Soros Fund Management LLC decreased its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 11.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 71,370 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 9,600 shares during the quarter. Soros Fund Management LLC's holdings in Allstate were worth $13,759,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have commented on ALL. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their price target on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Evercore ISI increased their target price on shares of Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $221.60.

Allstate Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of Allstate stock traded down $1.19 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $197.20. The company had a trading volume of 2,985,058 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,625,993. The company's 50-day moving average is $198.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.83. The Allstate Co. has a twelve month low of $156.66 and a twelve month high of $212.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a market cap of $52.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share (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 firm had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.41 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $5.13 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes 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.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.03%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

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.