Zions Bancorporation N.A. Trims Stock Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Zions Bancorporation N.A. trimmed its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 65.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 315 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 603 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation N.A.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $61,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Allstate has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.94.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of ALL stock opened at $209.16 on Thursday. The Allstate Co. has a twelve month low of $156.66 and a twelve month high of $212.91. The company has a market capitalization of $55.43 billion, a PE ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. 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 $195.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.54.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is 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.