The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Purchased by Pictet Asset Management Holding SA

Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL - Free Report) by 42.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 221,129 shares of the insurance provider's stock after acquiring an additional 66,177 shares during the period. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA owned approximately 0.08% of Allstate worth $42,631,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $344,354,000. GQG Partners LLC grew its stake in Allstate by 64.1% during the fourth 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 during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC increased its position in shares of Allstate by 15,062.3% in the fourth quarter. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC now owns 1,119,129 shares of the insurance provider's stock worth $215,757,000 after acquiring an additional 1,111,748 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 1.2% in 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. Finally, National Pension Service lifted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 69.7% during the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 708,098 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $136,514,000 after acquiring an additional 290,858 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays reduced their price target on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an "in-line" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their target price on shares of Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. One equities research 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Allstate currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $219.80.

Allstate Stock Up 1.3 %

NYSE ALL traded up $2.61 on Thursday, hitting $208.04. 894,221 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,573,015. The Allstate Co. has a twelve month low of $156.66 and a twelve month high of $212.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $55.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $196.94 and a 200 day moving average of $194.28.

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, beating 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%. As a group, analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th were paid a dividend of $1.00 per share. 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 1.92%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. Allstate's dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are 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 shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total value of $7,480,226.06. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly 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 document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.