M&T Bank Corp Trims Stock Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

M&T Bank Corp lessened its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 70,526 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,611 shares during the period. M&T Bank Corp’s holdings in Allstate were worth $13,597,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $49,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $57,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $220.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Barclays cut their price target on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 directly 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Price Performance

Allstate stock opened at $199.65 on Thursday. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $154.76 and a 52-week high of $209.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $190.58 and a 200-day moving average of $191.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.91 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.75, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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, analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.00%. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its board has authorized a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

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.