The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Sold by Moore Capital Management LP

Moore Capital Management LP reduced its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 66.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,304 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 160,608 shares during the period. Moore Capital Management LP’s holdings in Allstate were worth $15,482,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 157.9% during the fourth quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 6,591,138 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,270,705,000 after acquiring an additional 4,035,629 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $344,354,000. GQG Partners LLC boosted 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 valued at $832,181,000 after purchasing an additional 1,685,694 shares during the period. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC grew its position in 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 worth $215,757,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111,748 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 1,303.3% during the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 824,838 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $159,021,000 after buying an additional 766,058 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Price Performance

Allstate stock opened at $202.57 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $199.06 and its 200-day moving average is $195.19. The company has a market capitalization of $53.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.92, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.32. The Allstate Co. has a 12 month low of $156.66 and a 12 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.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.45). The business had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.41 billion. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $5.13 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has approved a share buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to buyback $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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 dividend of $1.00 per share. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 27.32%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on ALL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Argus upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price objective (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Allstate in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $225.20.

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.