Korea Investment CORP Reduces Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Korea Investment CORP reduced its position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 19.7% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 225,618 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 55,522 shares during the period. Korea Investment CORP owned 0.09% of Allstate worth $43,497,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. United Super Pty Ltd in its capacity as Trustee for the Construction & Building Unions Superannuation Fund acquired a new position in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth approximately $868,000. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Allstate by 23.4% during the fourth quarter. Ausdal Financial Partners Inc. now owns 2,976 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $574,000 after acquiring an additional 565 shares during the last quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. increased its holdings in shares of Allstate by 83.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. now owns 10,606 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $2,045,000 after acquiring an additional 4,810 shares during the period. Financial Counselors Inc. raised its position in Allstate by 2.0% in the 4th quarter. Financial Counselors Inc. now owns 98,921 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $19,071,000 after purchasing an additional 1,959 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. boosted its stake in Allstate by 21.5% during the 4th quarter. Penobscot Investment Management Company Inc. now owns 2,778 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $536,000 after purchasing an additional 492 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction on Monday, February 10th. The stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $3,378,990.95. The trade was a 68.88 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of ALL opened at $209.38 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The Allstate Co. has a 52-week low of $156.66 and a 52-week high of $212.91. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $195.46 and a 200-day simple moving average of $193.65. The company has a market capitalization of $55.49 billion, a PE ratio of 12.32, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The insurance provider reported $7.67 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors has initiated 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 buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Monday, March 10th will be paid a $1.00 dividend. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.91%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 10th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 23.54%.

About Allstate

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.