Quadrant Capital Group LLC Decreases Stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Quadrant Capital Group LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 10.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 4,336 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 480 shares during the quarter. Quadrant Capital Group LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $836,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $49,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Allstate Stock Performance

ALL opened at $186.74 on Monday. 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 business’s 50 day moving average is $197.37 and its 200-day moving average is $194.38. The stock has a market cap of $49.49 billion, a PE ratio of 10.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a twelve month low of $156.66 and a twelve month high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced 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 return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. On average, analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are often an indication that the company’s board 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 given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.14%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on ALL shares. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. StockNews.com downgraded Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 31st. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average 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.