Intech Investment Management LLC Has $12.29 Million Stock Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Intech Investment Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 56.8% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 63,741 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 83,725 shares during the period. Intech Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $12,289,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,061,000. Horizon Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 4,415 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $851,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Axxcess Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $849,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Flagship Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $288,000. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 8,017 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,546,000 after purchasing an additional 235 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. 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 report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Allstate Trading Up 1.4 %

ALL stock opened at $210.49 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $192.22 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.63. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $211.15. The stock has a market cap of $55.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.39, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

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, beating 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%. Equities analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current 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 given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.90%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its board has approved a share 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 typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.