The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Position Reduced by Quadrant Capital Group LLC

Quadrant Capital Group LLC reduced its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 10.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 4,336 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 480 shares during the period. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $836,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Allstate Price Performance

NYSE ALL opened at $186.74 on Monday. The company has a market cap 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 fifty day simple moving average of $197.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $194.38. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $156.66 and a 1 year high of $212.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released 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 return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related 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 value of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ALL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 31st. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Evercore ISI raised 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 given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Allstate has a consensus 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.