Natixis Buys 7,715 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Natixis increased its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 10.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 79,916 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 7,715 shares during the quarter. Natixis' holdings in Allstate were worth $15,407,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $344,354,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 1,685,694 shares in the last quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 15,062.3% in the 4th quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,119,129 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $215,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,748 shares in the last quarter. Menora Mivtachim Holdings LTD. acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $143,165,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 389,426 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods cut their price target on Allstate from $240.00 to $228.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 9th. StockNews.com downgraded Allstate from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 18th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $219.27.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE:ALL traded up $0.02 during trading on Thursday, reaching $194.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 914,318 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,614,951. The firm has a market cap of $51.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.46, a price-to-earnings-growth 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. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $197.39 and a 200-day moving average of $194.39.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.05%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Allstate's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

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.