Providence Wealth Advisors LLC Has $2.64 Million Stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Providence Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,072 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 268 shares during the period. Allstate accounts for approximately 2.0% of Providence Wealth Advisors LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Providence Wealth Advisors LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $2,641,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. United Bank bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 3rd quarter worth about $209,000. Cerity Partners LLC boosted its position in Allstate by 29.9% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 40,549 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $7,694,000 after buying an additional 9,336 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Allstate by 49.2% during the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,247 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $236,000 after acquiring an additional 411 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Allstate by 250.4% during the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 4,121 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $782,000 after purchasing an additional 2,945 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its holdings in shares of Allstate by 32.7% in the third quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 269,708 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $51,150,000 after buying an additional 66,483 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

ALL opened at $209.16 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $195.10 and a 200-day moving average of $193.54. The Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $156.66 and a 12-month high of $212.91. The stock has a market cap of $55.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.31, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42.

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 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, equities research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to buy up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be given a $1.00 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.91%. This is a positive change from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 23.54%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on ALL. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

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.