The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Stake Trimmed by HighTower Advisors LLC

HighTower Advisors LLC cut its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 5.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 153,071 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 9,375 shares during the quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC owned 0.06% of Allstate worth $29,511,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth about $57,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other 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 value of $7,480,226.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of Allstate stock opened at $207.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $192.38. The stock has a market capitalization of $55.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.22, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a 1-year low of $156.66 and a 1-year high of $209.88.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.93%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ALL shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays cut their price objective on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

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.