The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) Shares Sold by Bard Financial Services Inc.

Bard Financial Services Inc. lowered its stake in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 3.6% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,425 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after selling 350 shares during the quarter. Bard Financial Services Inc.’s holdings in Allstate were worth $1,952,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of ALL. VSM Wealth Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Twin Tree Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Vision Financial Markets LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Hopwood Financial Services Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new stake in shares of Allstate in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on ALL shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Raymond James reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up previously from $240.00) on shares of Allstate in a report on Monday, May 5th. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their price target on Allstate from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Argus raised Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 3rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Allstate from $217.00 to $222.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. One equities research 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.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.20.

Allstate Trading Down 2.3%

NYSE:ALL opened at $196.24 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.40, a current ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The business’s 50 day moving average is $199.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $197.09. The Allstate Co. has a 52 week low of $156.66 and a 52 week high of $213.18. The company has a market cap of $51.97 billion, a PE ratio of 11.55, a P/E/G ratio of 1.01 and a beta of 0.35.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The insurance provider reported $3.53 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.98 by ($0.45). The company had revenue of $14.30 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.41 billion. Allstate had a return on equity of 28.20% and a net margin of 7.28%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $5.13 EPS. On average, analysts predict that The Allstate Co. will post 18.74 EPS for the current year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 1st. Investors of record on Monday, June 9th will be issued a $1.00 dividend. This represents a $4.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.04%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, June 9th. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 27.32%.

Allstate announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Wednesday, February 26th that authorizes the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the insurance provider to reacquire up to 3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

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.