DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main Sells 36,920 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main reduced its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 21.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 136,302 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 36,920 shares during the period. DZ BANK AG Deutsche Zentral Genossenschafts Bank Frankfurt am Main’s holdings in Allstate were worth $26,278,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Allstate by 117.3% in the 4th quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643 shares in the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Allstate by 6.9% during the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 58,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,297,000 after buying an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Allstate by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 508,664 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $98,065,000 after buying an additional 48,382 shares in the last quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP boosted its stake in Allstate by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 401,542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $77,413,000 after buying an additional 100,311 shares during the period. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 56.0% in the fourth quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 186,792 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $36,012,000 after buying an additional 67,032 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have commented on ALL. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $225.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allstate has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.20.

Allstate Stock Down 0.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $202.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $53.70 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The Allstate Co. has a 12 month low of $156.66 and a 12 month high of $212.91. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $198.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $195.09.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.45). Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. The company had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $5.13 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has approved a stock buyback plan 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 plans are usually an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.97%. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.32%.

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.