Hancock Whitney Corp Purchases 22,871 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Hancock Whitney Corp raised its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 30.8% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 97,095 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 22,871 shares during the quarter. Hancock Whitney Corp's holdings in Allstate were worth $18,719,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Apella Capital LLC boosted its position in Allstate by 1.9% during the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $623,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the last quarter. Intrust Bank NA boosted its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC grew its position in 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 in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. lifted its position in Allstate by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,616 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC boosted 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 buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Activity at Allstate

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

Allstate Stock Performance

Allstate stock traded down $1.84 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $193.02. The company had a trading volume of 1,156,082 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,615,648. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91. The firm has a market cap of $51.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.36, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $197.62 and a 200 day moving average of $194.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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 given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.07%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate's payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently issued reports on ALL shares. StockNews.com downgraded Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, April 18th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods dropped their price objective on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Allstate from $183.00 to $172.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Allstate presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $219.27.

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.