Lazard Asset Management LLC Has $182.36 Million Stake in The Allstate Corporation $ALL

Lazard Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) by 31.0% in the 1st quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 879,507 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 208,128 shares during the period. Lazard Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Allstate were worth $182,357,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. boosted its position in Allstate by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $1,625,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Compound Planning Inc. increased its position in Allstate by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 3,216 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $669,000 after buying an additional 50 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 5,815 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares during the period. Root Financial Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 4.7% in the first quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC now owns 1,170 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $243,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. raised its stake in Allstate by 10.2% during the 4th quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 596 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $125,000 after purchasing an additional 55 shares during the last quarter. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Allstate

In related news, insider Mark Q. Prindiville sold 1,550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $216.27, for a total transaction of $335,218.50. Following the transaction, the insider owned 27,558 shares in the company, valued at $5,959,968.66. This represents a 5.32% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Mario Rizzo sold 18,578 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $218.80, for a total transaction of $4,064,866.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 82,227 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,991,267.60. This represents a 18.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 22,353 shares of company stock worth $4,851,560. Insiders own 1.55% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Stock Performance

Allstate stock opened at $260.16 on Monday. The Allstate Corporation has a 52-week low of $188.08 and a 52-week high of $260.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.36. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $231.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $216.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $66.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.74, a P/E/G ratio of 0.45 and a beta of 0.16.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The insurance provider reported $10.65 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.31 by $3.34. Allstate had a net margin of 17.81% and a return on equity of 42.66%. The business had revenue of $16.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $15.24 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.53 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that The Allstate Corporation will post 30.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 1st. Shareholders of record on Monday, August 31st will be paid a $1.08 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, August 31st. This represents a $4.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. Allstate’s payout ratio is currently 9.53%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have issued reports on ALL. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Allstate from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Zacks Research cut shares of Allstate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Allstate from $229.00 to $243.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. UBS Group downgraded Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $255.00 to $261.00 in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Allstate from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 20th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have given a Buy rating, twelve have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $254.80.

About Allstate

Allstate Corporation is a publicly traded insurance company headquartered in Northbrook, Illinois, and is one of the largest personal lines property and casualty insurers in the United States. Founded in 1931 as a subsidiary of Sears, Roebuck and Co, Allstate has grown into a diversified insurer that serves millions of consumers and businesses through a mix of distribution channels and product offerings.

The company underwrites a broad range of insurance products, with primary emphasis on auto and homeowners coverage.