Bank of Montreal Can Sells 154,431 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Bank of Montreal Can trimmed its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 22.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 529,143 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 154,431 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can owned approximately 0.20% of Allstate worth $102,013,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALL. Polymer Capital Management US LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter worth $248,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Allstate by 25.1% during the fourth quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 50,737 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $9,742,000 after acquiring an additional 10,188 shares during the period. FMR LLC grew its position in Allstate by 14.4% in the 4th quarter. FMR LLC now owns 1,067,746 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $205,851,000 after purchasing an additional 134,394 shares during the last quarter. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. boosted its stake in Allstate by 63.2% in the 4th quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 265,767 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $51,235,000 after buying an additional 102,937 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

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Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE ALL traded up $3.42 on Monday, hitting $195.97. 247,683 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,614,359. The firm has a market cap of $51.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.36. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $212.91. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $196.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $194.22. 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 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, research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were given a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. This is a positive change from Allstate's previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value 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 trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 1.80% of the company's stock.

Allstate 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.