The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Position Trimmed by Poplar Forest Capital LLC

Poplar Forest Capital LLC lessened its stake in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 0.1% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 202,444 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 197 shares during the period. Allstate makes up about 4.5% of Poplar Forest Capital LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 3rd biggest position. Poplar Forest Capital LLC owned approximately 0.08% of Allstate worth $32,322,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. SageView Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $456,000. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its position in Allstate by 5.7% during the 4th quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 92,753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $12,984,000 after purchasing an additional 4,987 shares during the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,927,000. BDF Gestion purchased a new stake in Allstate during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $3,051,000. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allstate in the 4th quarter valued at $52,042,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Price Performance

NYSE:ALL traded down $0.40 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $185.36. 1,687,591 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,573,542. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $173.77 and its 200-day moving average is $168.18. The firm has a market cap of $48.92 billion, a PE ratio of 40.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 0.48. The Allstate Co. has a twelve month low of $105.85 and a twelve month high of $191.33.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.61 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $1.28. The company had revenue of $15.71 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $14.04 billion. Allstate had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($4.42) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 15.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be given a $0.92 dividend. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.99%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 81.24%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Suren Gupta sold 45,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.28, for a total transaction of $8,114,992.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,930 shares in the company, valued at $15,942,790.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Allstate news, insider Suren Gupta sold 45,775 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.28, for a total transaction of $8,114,992.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 89,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,942,790.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Thomas J. Wilson sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.34, for a total transaction of $16,140,600.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,552 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $15,880,915.68. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 201,938 shares of company stock worth $36,122,740 over the last three months. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $213.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $191.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $199.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, August 12th. Finally, Roth Mkm reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $200.00 price objective on shares of Allstate in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, fourteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allstate has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $192.76.

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.