The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Sold by Moors & Cabot Inc.

Moors & Cabot Inc. lessened its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 18,749 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 202 shares during the quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $3,615,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. United Bank purchased a new position in Allstate in the third quarter worth approximately $209,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate in the third quarter valued at $228,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Allstate by 2.7% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,119,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate during the third quarter worth about $284,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Allstate by 5.4% during the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays dropped 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. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their price objective on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

Allstate Stock Up 1.8 %

Shares of ALL stock opened at $202.25 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $53.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.90, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $209.88. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $191.08 and a 200-day moving average of $192.10. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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, equities research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.98%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its board has authorized a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.50 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction 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. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 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.