Clear Rock Advisors LLC Cuts Stock Position in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Clear Rock Advisors LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 6.8% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 16,795 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 1,231 shares during the period. Clear Rock Advisors LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $2,681,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rafferty Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Allstate by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Rafferty Asset Management LLC now owns 92,753 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $12,984,000 after buying an additional 4,987 shares in the last quarter. Lighthouse Investment Partners LLC purchased a new position in Allstate in the 4th quarter worth approximately $5,927,000. BDF Gestion acquired a new stake in Allstate in the second quarter valued at approximately $3,051,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 55.8% during the first quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 218,629 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $37,825,000 after purchasing an additional 78,316 shares during the period. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Allstate during the second quarter worth $476,000. 76.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allstate Trading Up 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE ALL opened at $189.92 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $50.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.81 and a beta of 0.48. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.94 and its 200 day simple moving average is $171.88. 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 Allstate Co. has a 12-month low of $109.01 and a 12-month high of $193.97.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.33 by $1.28. Allstate had a net margin of 5.03% and a return on equity of 24.05%. The company had revenue of $15.71 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $14.04 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($4.42) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that The Allstate Co. will post 15.2 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Friday, August 30th were paid a $0.92 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, August 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.94%. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 81.24%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALL shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Allstate from $177.00 to $175.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 16th. Bank of America raised their target price on Allstate from $213.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com cut Allstate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 21st. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price objective on Allstate from $199.00 to $208.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Allstate from $199.00 to $204.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $192.76.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Thomas J. Wilson sold 90,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.34, for a total value of $16,140,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 88,552 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,880,915.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Elizabeth Brady sold 49,481 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.09, for a total value of $8,861,552.29. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,431,901.67. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Thomas J. Wilson sold 90,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.34, for a total transaction of $16,140,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now 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. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 238,305 shares of company stock valued at $43,082,657. Insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Company 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.