Avanza Fonder AB Cuts Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Avanza Fonder AB trimmed its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 15.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 18,961 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 3,337 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB’s holdings in Allstate were worth $3,895,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in ALL. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake 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 worth $1,270,705,000 after buying an additional 4,035,629 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $344,354,000. GQG Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of 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. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Allstate by 25,026.1% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,273,895 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $263,785,000 after purchasing an additional 1,268,825 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Castle Hook Partners LP boosted its holdings in Allstate by 1,303.3% in the fourth quarter. Castle Hook Partners LP now owns 824,838 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $159,021,000 after purchasing an additional 766,058 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Price Performance

ALL stock opened at $196.24 on Wednesday. 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 business has a 50 day simple moving average of $199.31 and a 200-day simple moving average of $197.09. The Allstate Co. has a twelve month low of $156.66 and a twelve month high of $213.18. The company has a market capitalization of $51.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.55, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.35.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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). Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. The company had revenue of $14.30 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $16.41 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $5.13 earnings per share. Allstate’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, June 9th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 27.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALL. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Evercore ISI upped their price target on Allstate from $227.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Allstate from $200.00 to $197.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on Allstate in a report on Friday, June 6th. They issued a “sector outperform” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Allstate currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.