The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Stock Holdings Lessened by Smith Moore & CO.

Smith Moore & CO. cut its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 5.4% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,367 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 136 shares during the period. Smith Moore & CO.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $456,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP purchased a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Down 9.1 %

ALL opened at $186.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.99, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. 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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is $197.37 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.35. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $212.91.

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

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors 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 typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In other Allstate 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 transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on ALL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.80.

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.