California Public Employees Retirement System Has $233.92 Million Stock Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

California Public Employees Retirement System cut its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,213,338 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 7,800 shares during the period. California Public Employees Retirement System’s holdings in Allstate were worth $233,919,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 5.2% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 577,934 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $109,605,000 after buying an additional 28,584 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Allstate by 117.3% in the fourth quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $944,000 after acquiring an additional 2,643 shares during the last quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Allstate by 6.9% in the 4th quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc. now owns 58,600 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $11,297,000 after acquiring an additional 3,800 shares during the period. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Allstate by 10.5% during the 4th quarter. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC now owns 508,664 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $98,065,000 after purchasing an additional 48,382 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 33.3% in the 4th quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 401,542 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $77,413,000 after purchasing an additional 100,311 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE:ALL opened at $206.46 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $54.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.15, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a fifty-two week low of $156.66 and a fifty-two week high of $212.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a current ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $195.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $193.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.94%. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 23.54%.

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on ALL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods boosted their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Barclays dropped their price target on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. Finally, Argus raised shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.80.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 approximately $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 accessible through this hyperlink. Company 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.