The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Sold by Huntington National Bank

Huntington National Bank cut its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 2.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 39,221 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,180 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank’s holdings in Allstate were worth $7,561,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new position in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Peoples Bank KS acquired a new stake in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $49,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALL. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target 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. Barclays lowered their price target on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.80.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALL opened at $205.59 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $54.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.10, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. 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 company’s fifty day moving average price is $196.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $194.28. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $156.66 and a 1 year high of $212.91.

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 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%. On average, research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.95%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership 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 value of $7,480,226.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Corporate 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.