Investment Management Corp of Ontario Trims Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario trimmed its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 17.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 7,301 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 1,500 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario's holdings in Allstate were worth $1,408,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Allstate Price Performance

NYSE ALL traded up $4.51 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $205.10. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,125,987 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,683. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $54.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.07, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The company's 50-day moving average is $199.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $195.38. The Allstate Co. has a 1-year low of $156.66 and a 1-year high of $212.91.

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

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on ALL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their target price on Allstate from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised 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. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $225.20.

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.