The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Holdings Raised by Candriam S.C.A.

Candriam S.C.A. boosted its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 18.7% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 109,038 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 17,159 shares during the quarter. Candriam S.C.A.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $21,021,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the third quarter worth approximately $29,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Peoples Bank KS bought a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $53,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently weighed in on ALL shares. Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price objective 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. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group raised their price objective on Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.94.

Allstate Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of ALL stock opened at $197.42 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $190.62 and its two-hundred day moving average is $191.51. 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 12 month low of $155.40 and a 12 month high of $209.88. The company has a market cap of $52.32 billion, a PE ratio of 11.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. 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 share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. 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%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is 23.54%.

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.