Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. Sells 1,588,049 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. trimmed its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 67.4% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 767,242 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,588,049 shares during the period. Diamond Hill Capital Management Inc. owned approximately 0.29% of Allstate worth $147,917,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALL. United Bank bought a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 157 shares during the period. Entropy Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the third quarter worth approximately $284,000. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 5.4% in the third quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 2,503 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $475,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 1.9% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 650,381 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $123,345,000 after buying an additional 12,162 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allstate Trading Up 1.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ALL opened at $202.00 on Friday. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $209.88. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $191.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $192.21. The company has a market capitalization of $53.54 billion, a PE ratio of 11.89, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.40 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $5.40 by $2.27. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm 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 $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.98%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.54%.

Allstate announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Wednesday, February 26th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Allstate from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 15th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. Evercore ISI upgraded Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Barclays reduced 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. Finally, Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. One research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. This trade represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 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.