The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Sold by Aviva PLC

Aviva PLC decreased its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 83.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 30,112 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 152,371 shares during the period. Aviva PLC's holdings in Allstate were worth $5,805,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $344,354,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 64.1% in the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,316,516 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $832,181,000 after buying an additional 1,685,694 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Allstate by 15,062.3% during the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,119,129 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $215,757,000 after buying an additional 1,111,748 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in shares of Allstate by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,635,424 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $6,291,783,000 after buying an additional 389,426 shares during the period. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Allstate by 69.7% in the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 708,098 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,514,000 after acquiring an additional 290,858 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on ALL shares. StockNews.com raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their target price on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, Argus upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $219.27.

Allstate Stock Up 0.4 %

Shares of ALL stock traded up $0.74 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $196.24. 254,414 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,614,396. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. The business's fifty day moving average is $196.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $194.27. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The firm has a market capitalization of $52.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. As a group, research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. This is an increase from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Allstate's payout ratio is 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

About Allstate

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.