Independent Advisor Alliance Has $3.85 Million Stock Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Independent Advisor Alliance trimmed its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 2.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 19,963 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 535 shares during the quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance’s holdings in Allstate were worth $3,849,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. United Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 3rd quarter valued at $209,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new position in Allstate in the third quarter valued at about $228,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC increased its position in Allstate by 2.7% in the third quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,901 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,119,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP bought a new stake in Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth about $284,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Allstate by 5.4% during the 3rd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after purchasing an additional 128 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Evercore ISI upgraded shares of Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Allstate has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $217.94.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of ALL stock opened at $202.25 on Wednesday. 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 Allstate Co. has a 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $209.88. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $191.08 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $192.10. The company has a market capitalization of $53.60 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a net margin of 7.28% and a return on equity of 28.20%. On average, analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company 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 is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 23.54%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The shares were 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 owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.