The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Sold by American Century Companies Inc.

American Century Companies Inc. cut its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 20.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and 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. owned about 0.81% of Allstate worth $412,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Apella Capital LLC increased its position in Allstate by 1.9% in the 4th quarter. Apella Capital LLC now owns 3,231 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $623,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares during the period. Avior Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Allstate by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Perigon Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Allstate by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,990 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $571,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Allstate by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 3,616 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $697,000 after buying an additional 62 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Angeles Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in Allstate by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Angeles Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,403 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $270,000 after purchasing an additional 62 shares in the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allstate Price Performance

ALL stock opened at $206.60 on Friday. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $193.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $193.07. The stock has a market cap of $54.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.16, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.47. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $156.66 and a 1 year high of $212.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.40.

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

Allstate Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th will be issued a dividend of $1.00 per share. This is an increase from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.92. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 10th. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.94%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 23.54%.

Allstate declared that its Board of Directors 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 buy up to 3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jesse E. Merten sold 40,102 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 18,115 shares in the company, valued at $3,378,990.95. This represents a 68.88 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Corporate 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.