ProShare Advisors LLC Increases Holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

ProShare Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 3.7% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 62,679 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,256 shares during the quarter. ProShare Advisors LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $10,007,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALL. Palestra Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Allstate during the 4th quarter worth about $83,561,000. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Allstate during the fourth quarter worth about $81,571,000. Artemis Investment Management LLP purchased a new position in Allstate during the first quarter valued at approximately $95,764,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Allstate by 3,839.0% in the second quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 416,117 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $66,417,000 after acquiring an additional 405,553 shares during the period. Finally, BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its position in Allstate by 757.1% in the 2nd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 340,274 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $54,328,000 after purchasing an additional 300,572 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $199.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Allstate from $191.00 to $205.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, August 5th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Allstate from $199.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on Allstate from $177.00 to $175.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Allstate from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allstate presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.76.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allstate

In related news, insider Suren Gupta sold 45,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $177.28, for a total transaction of $8,114,992.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 89,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,942,790.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider John E. Dugenske sold 36,367 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $191.38, for a total value of $6,959,916.46. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 27,364 shares in the company, valued at $5,236,922.32. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Suren Gupta sold 45,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $177.28, for a total value of $8,114,992.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 89,930 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,942,790.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 238,305 shares of company stock worth $43,082,657. 1.80% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Allstate Stock Performance

Shares of ALL stock opened at $191.82 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $180.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $109.01 and a 1 year high of $193.97. The firm has a market cap of $50.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.34, a PEG ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 0.48.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.61 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $1.28. The company had revenue of $15.71 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $14.04 billion. Allstate had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 5.03%. The firm’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($4.42) earnings per share. Analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 15.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $3.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.92%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is presently 81.24%.

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.