Choate Investment Advisors Sells 929 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Choate Investment Advisors lessened its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 4.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 22,391 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 929 shares during the period. Choate Investment Advisors’ holdings in Allstate were worth $4,317,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. United Bank acquired a new position in Allstate in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new position in Allstate in the 3rd quarter valued at $284,000. Harbour Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Allstate by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after buying an additional 128 shares in the last quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Allstate by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. Aptus Capital Advisors LLC now owns 3,500 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $664,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empower Advisory Group LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the 3rd quarter valued at $232,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $186.53, for a total transaction of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Allstate Price Performance

Allstate stock opened at $207.68 on Friday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $55.04 billion, a PE ratio of 12.22, 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $191.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $192.43.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. Analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share 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 purchase up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a dividend of $1.00 per share. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.93%. This is an increase 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%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALL has been the topic of a number of research reports. Barclays decreased their price objective on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 6th. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Allstate from $206.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

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.