Bank of Nova Scotia Acquires 46,371 Shares of The Allstate Corporation $ALL

Bank of Nova Scotia raised its stake in The Allstate Corporation (NYSE:ALL) by 43.0% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 154,333 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after buying an additional 46,371 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.06% of Allstate worth $31,999,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in ALL. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. lifted its position in Allstate by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Coldstream Capital Management Inc. now owns 7,809 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $1,625,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Compound Planning Inc. raised its stake in shares of Allstate by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. Compound Planning Inc. now owns 3,216 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $669,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Root Financial Partners LLC lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 53 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montag A & Associates Inc. boosted its position in shares of Allstate by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Montag A & Associates Inc. now owns 596 shares of the insurance provider’s stock worth $125,000 after buying an additional 55 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 76.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALL has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. HSBC downgraded Allstate from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $244.00 to $264.00 in a research report on Monday, July 6th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Allstate from $221.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Raymond James Financial increased their target price on shares of Allstate from $260.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 6th. Roth Capital reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $275.00 target price on shares of Allstate in a research report on Friday, July 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Allstate from $215.00 to $240.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have issued a Buy rating, twelve have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $254.80.

Allstate Stock Performance

NYSE:ALL opened at $260.16 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $231.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $216.00. The stock has a market cap of $66.97 billion, a P/E ratio of 5.74, a PEG ratio of 0.44 and a beta of 0.16. The Allstate Corporation has a 1-year low of $188.08 and a 1-year high of $260.65. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.25.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 return on equity of 42.66% and a net margin of 17.81%.The firm had revenue of $16.94 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $15.24 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $3.53 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that The Allstate Corporation will post 30.51 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Mark Q. Prindiville sold 1,550 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 27,558 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,959,968.66. This trade represents a 5.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Andrea Redmond sold 2,225 shares of Allstate stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $202.91, for a total transaction of $451,474.75. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 2,225 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $451,474.75. The trade was a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 22,353 shares of company stock worth $4,851,560 in the last quarter. 1.55% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Allstate Company Profile

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.