Securian Asset Management Inc. Sells 411 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Securian Asset Management Inc. cut its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 14,160 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 411 shares during the quarter. Securian Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $2,730,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the third quarter valued at $26,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $49,000. Finally, Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $53,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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 stock was 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Allstate Price Performance

ALL opened at $198.45 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $192.14. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $209.88. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $52.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate announced that its board has authorized a share repurchase 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 generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business 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 $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.02%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s payout ratio is 23.54%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on ALL shares. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

Allstate 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.