Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. Sells 25,000 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A. reduced its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 26.2% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 70,278 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 25,000 shares during the period. Edmond DE Rothschild Holding S.A.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $13,549,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC bought a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Allstate Price Performance

NYSE:ALL opened at $206.46 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $195.81 and its 200 day simple moving average is $193.91. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $156.66 and a 52-week high of $212.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The company has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.15, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its board has authorized a share repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed 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 1.94%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $219.80.

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.