Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Acquires 20,854 Shares of The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank boosted its holdings in The Allstate Co. (NYSE:ALL) by 23.3% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 110,498 shares of the insurance provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 20,854 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Allstate were worth $17,642,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. E Fund Management Hong Kong Co. Ltd. bought a new position in Allstate in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC bought a new position in shares of Allstate during the 1st quarter valued at $26,000. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Allstate by 70.9% during the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 188 shares of the insurance provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 78 shares during the period. 76.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Suren Gupta sold 45,775 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 in the company, valued at $15,942,790.40. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, EVP Elizabeth Brady sold 49,481 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.09, for a total transaction of $8,861,552.29. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 19,163 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,431,901.67. The sale was disclosed in a 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 dated 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 89,930 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,942,790.40. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 201,938 shares of company stock worth $36,122,740. Company insiders own 1.80% of the company’s stock.

Allstate Trading Down 0.3 %

Allstate stock traded down $0.61 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $187.74. The company had a trading volume of 366,357 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,563,372. The firm has a market cap of $49.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.59, a P/E/G ratio of 1.86 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $169.94 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.84. The Allstate Co. has a 1 year low of $105.57 and a 1 year high of $188.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a current ratio of 0.36.

Allstate (NYSE:ALL) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The insurance provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (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 analysts’ expectations of $14.04 billion. Allstate had a return on equity of 24.05% and a net margin of 5.03%. Allstate’s revenue was up 12.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($4.42) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that The Allstate Co. will post 13.64 earnings per share for the current year.

Allstate Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 1st. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 30th will be paid a dividend of $0.92 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 30th. This represents a $3.68 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.96%. Allstate’s dividend payout ratio is currently 81.24%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently weighed in on ALL. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Allstate from $193.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Allstate from $205.00 to $200.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 10th. Bank of America increased their price target on Allstate from $213.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Roth Mkm reissued a “buy” rating and set a $200.00 price target on shares of Allstate in a report on Wednesday, August 14th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Allstate from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $191.94.

About Allstate

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.