The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Sold by Caxton Associates LP

Caxton Associates LP lowered its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 35.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,313 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 2,381 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP’s holdings in Allstate were worth $832,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. 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 during the 4th quarter worth about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALL has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 11th. StockNews.com upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Allstate currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $224.73.

Insider Activity

In other 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, 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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Price Performance

ALL stock opened at $202.42 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $198.88 and a 200-day simple moving average of $194.95. The firm has a market cap of $53.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. 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 Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $156.66 and a 1 year high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.98 by ($0.45). The firm had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $16.41 billion. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $5.13 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.32%.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

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.