Stifel Financial Corp Sells 30,986 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Stifel Financial Corp decreased its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 13.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 193,517 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 30,986 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp owned approximately 0.07% of Allstate worth $37,308,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 22.8% in the third quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 742 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $141,000 after buying an additional 138 shares in the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC lifted its position in shares of Allstate by 104.2% during the third quarter. Virtu Financial LLC now owns 5,728 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $1,086,000 after purchasing an additional 2,923 shares in the last quarter. Tudor Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 3rd quarter valued at $2,836,000. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. boosted its position in Allstate by 5.3% in the 3rd quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. now owns 5,776 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,095,000 after buying an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its stake in Allstate by 534.3% during the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 33,530 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,359,000 after purchasing an additional 28,244 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALL shares. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays dropped their target price on Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price objective on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.27.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALL traded up $1.76 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $197.17. 218,986 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,609,728. 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 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $212.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.28 billion, a PE ratio of 11.58, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The company's 50 day moving average is $197.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.74.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

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

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.