Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Buys 363,668 Shares of The Allstate Corporation $ALL

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) by 21.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,045,435 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 363,668 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $425,757,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALL. State Street Corp grew its stake in Allstate by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,859,517 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,557,362,000 after buying an additional 85,468 shares during the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 14.9% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 3,050,780 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $654,652,000 after acquiring an additional 395,195 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. grew its position in shares of Allstate by 3.3% in the second quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. now owns 2,793,645 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $562,388,000 after purchasing an additional 88,620 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Allstate by 18.2% in the third quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,606,451 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $559,435,000 after purchasing an additional 401,700 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $531,294,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently weighed in on ALL. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price target on Allstate from $260.00 to $266.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 7th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Allstate from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $231.00 target price on shares of Allstate in a research report on Thursday, March 5th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on shares of Allstate from $281.00 to $265.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, March 20th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, nine have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $241.67.

Allstate Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $210.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 4.65, a P/E/G ratio of 0.37 and a beta of 0.18. The Allstate Corporation has a 1 year low of $188.08 and a 1 year high of $227.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.98 and its 200 day simple moving average is $208.57.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $10.65 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.31 by $3.34. The firm had revenue of $16.94 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.24 billion. Allstate had a return on equity of 42.66% and a net margin of 17.81%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. On average, research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Corporation will post 29.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 1st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 1st. Allstate’s payout ratio is 9.53%.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other Allstate news, COO Mario Rizzo sold 18,578 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $218.80, for a total value of $4,064,866.40. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 82,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $17,991,267.60. This trade represents a 18.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Mark Q. Prindiville sold 1,550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.27, for a total transaction of $335,218.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 27,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,959,968.66. The trade was a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 22,353 shares of company stock valued at $4,851,560 over the last quarter. 1.55% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

About Allstate

Allstate Corporation is a publicly traded insurance company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, and is one of the largest personal lines property and casualty insurers in the United States. Founded in 1931 as a subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck and Co, Allstate has grown into a diversified insurer that serves millions of consumers and businesses through a mix of distribution channels and product offerings.

The company underwrites a broad range of insurance products, with primary emphasis on auto and homeowners coverage.