The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Acquired by Bank of America Corp DE

Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 157.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 6,591,138 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 4,035,629 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE owned about 2.49% of Allstate worth $1,270,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,635,424 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,291,783,000 after buying an additional 389,426 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 2.4% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 9,334,926 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,799,681,000 after purchasing an additional 218,771 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Allstate by 3.1% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,419,728 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,236,060,000 after buying an additional 191,147 shares during the period. GQG Partners LLC boosted its stake in Allstate by 64.1% during the fourth quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,316,516 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $832,181,000 after buying an additional 1,685,694 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 3,681,306 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $709,719,000 after acquiring an additional 106,730 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $199.15 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.87. The stock has a market capitalization of $52.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.72, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.45). Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. The company had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $16.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $5.13 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate announced that its board has approved a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.01%. Allstate's payout ratio is presently 27.32%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on the company. Argus upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $221.60.

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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