Gulf International Bank UK Ltd Trims Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Gulf International Bank UK Ltd decreased its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 1.1% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 20,570 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 231 shares during the quarter. Gulf International Bank UK Ltd’s holdings in Allstate were worth $3,965,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate in the third quarter worth about $29,000. Peoples Bank KS purchased a new stake in Allstate in the fourth quarter worth about $49,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $53,000. Finally, Golden State Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $57,000. Institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Allstate from $231.00 to $267.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 8th. Evercore ISI raised shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective 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, Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Allstate from $220.00 to $228.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $217.94.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the firm’s 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 directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.80% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Allstate Trading Up 3.5 %

Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $195.01 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $153.87 and a 1 year high of $209.88. The company has a market cap of $51.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.48, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.52. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $190.15 and its 200-day moving average price is $190.71.

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, beating 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 2.05%. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 21.66%.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that permits the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the insurance provider to repurchase up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.