Alliancebernstein L.P. Sells 15,859 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Alliancebernstein L.P. reduced its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 4.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 322,738 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 15,859 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. owned about 0.12% of Allstate worth $62,221,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Price Performance

NYSE ALL opened at $186.74 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $49.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $156.66 and a 52-week high of $212.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $197.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.33.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS 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%. Sell-side analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com lowered Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, March 31st. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded 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 issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.80.

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.