The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Acquired by Johnson Financial Group Inc.

Johnson Financial Group Inc. grew its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 66.9% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 12,171 shares of the insurance provider's stock after buying an additional 4,879 shares during the quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc.'s holdings in Allstate were worth $2,341,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth $344,354,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Allstate by 64.1% during the 4th quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 4,316,516 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $832,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685,694 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in 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. Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $143,165,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Allstate by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 32,635,424 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $6,291,783,000 after buying an additional 389,426 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALL has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Argus raised Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods decreased their price target on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $219.27.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allstate 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Allstate Stock Performance

ALL traded up $2.65 on Monday, hitting $195.56. 1,504,093 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,615,202. The company has a 50 day moving average of $197.70 and a 200-day moving average of $194.74. 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 has a market capitalization of $51.85 billion, a PE ratio of 11.51, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. 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 released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a boost from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. Allstate's payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its board has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to purchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

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.