American Century Companies Inc. Sells 565,960 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

American Century Companies Inc. lessened its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 20.9% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,138,448 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 565,960 shares during the period. American Century Companies Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $412,272,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Allstate in the third quarter worth $26,000. Twin Tree Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Finally, Hopwood Financial Services Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Allstate during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on ALL shares. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods lifted their target price on Allstate from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Argus upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 3rd. Barclays decreased their target price on Allstate from $187.00 to $183.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 6th. Evercore ISI raised Allstate from an “in-line” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Allstate from $186.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $217.94.

Allstate Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of ALL opened at $206.60 on Friday. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $193.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $193.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $54.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a PEG ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a one year low of $156.66 and a one year high of $212.91.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued 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 return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. Equities research analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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 issued a $1.00 dividend. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the company’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 directly owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.