The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Sold by Viking Fund Management LLC

Viking Fund Management LLC reduced its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 56.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 25,000 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 33,000 shares during the quarter. Viking Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $3,500,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Cultivar Capital Inc. acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $260,000. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in Allstate by 484.8% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 332,104 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $46,488,000 after buying an additional 275,319 shares in the last quarter. Invera Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,549,000. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Allstate by 14.3% in the fourth quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,682 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $235,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares during the period. Finally, Pacer Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Allstate by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 17,535 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,455,000 after purchasing an additional 792 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allstate Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALL traded up $1.83 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $170.80. The stock had a trading volume of 1,704,566 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,778,182. The company has a market capitalization of $44.93 billion, a PE ratio of -137.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.51. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.75 and a 200-day simple moving average of $139.72. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $100.57 and a 1 year high of $171.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.37, a current ratio of 0.37 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $5.82 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.87 by $1.95. Allstate had a positive return on equity of 2.67% and a negative net margin of 0.33%. The firm had revenue of $14.83 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $12.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.36) earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 13.11 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 4th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 1st. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently -296.77%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALL has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen initiated coverage on Allstate in a report on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $193.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Allstate from $171.00 to $185.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 12th. Jefferies Financial Group raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $130.00 to $180.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Allstate from $164.00 to $172.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 8th. Finally, HSBC started coverage on Allstate in a report on Thursday, December 28th. They set a “hold” rating and a $145.00 target price on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $162.75.

Insider Activity at Allstate

In related news, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total value of $637,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 10,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,712,069.92. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.70% 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.