Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE Cuts Stock Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE lessened its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 12.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 3,800 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 550 shares during the quarter. Smithbridge Asset Management Inc. DE’s holdings in Allstate were worth $532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Allstate in the third quarter valued at $25,000. First Capital Advisors Group LLC. purchased a new position in Allstate in the second quarter valued at $29,000. RVW Wealth LLC purchased a new position in Allstate in the third quarter valued at $33,000. Chilton Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the first quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC acquired a new position in Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:ALL traded up $3.16 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $173.00. The stock had a trading volume of 778,850 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,756,259. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a current ratio of 0.37 and a quick ratio of 0.37. The Allstate Co. has a twelve month low of $100.57 and a twelve month high of $173.47. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $159.13 and a 200 day simple moving average of $140.17.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 8th. The insurance provider reported $5.82 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.87 by $1.95. Allstate had a negative net margin of 0.33% and a positive return on equity of 2.67%. The firm had revenue of $14.83 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $12.69 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned ($1.36) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 8.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that The Allstate Co. will post 13.11 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 4th will be issued a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 1st. This is a boost from Allstate’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.89. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.13%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is -296.77%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In other Allstate news, CAO John C. Pintozzi sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $159.47, for a total value of $637,880.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 10,736 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,712,069.92. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 1.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALL has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $112.00 to $145.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 9th. TheStreet upgraded shares of Allstate from a “c+” rating to a “b” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. TD Cowen initiated coverage on shares of Allstate in a research note on Wednesday, January 10th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $193.00 price objective for the company. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Allstate from $155.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Allstate from $164.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $165.56.

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.