CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Boosts Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co lifted its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 7.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 360,657 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 26,484 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co owned approximately 0.14% of Allstate worth $69,500,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Apella Capital LLC grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $623,000 after purchasing an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA boosted its position in Allstate by 0.5% during the fourth quarter. Intrust Bank NA now owns 12,135 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $2,340,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in shares of Allstate by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $571,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Allstate by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $697,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Allstate by 4.6% during the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $270,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Stock Down 4.0 %

Allstate stock traded down $7.71 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $186.95. The stock had a trading volume of 1,296,091 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,619,643. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.00, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. 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 stock's 50-day moving average price is $197.27 and its 200-day moving average price is $194.42. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. Equities research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm 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. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. 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 2.14%. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALL has been the subject of several analyst reports. Argus raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. StockNews.com downgraded Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lowered their target price on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $219.27.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.