The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Sold by UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp

UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp cut its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 7.6% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 1,555 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 127 shares during the period. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp’s holdings in Allstate were worth $300,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Allstate Stock Performance

Allstate stock opened at $209.16 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $195.10 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.54. The stock has a market cap of $55.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a price-to-earnings-growth 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 Allstate Co. has a 1-year low of $156.66 and a 1-year high of $212.91.

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

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits 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 Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.91%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.54%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on ALL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays lowered their price target on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

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.