Diversified Trust Co Takes Position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Diversified Trust Co acquired a new position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 13,564 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,773,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Allegion by 1.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $589,659,000 after purchasing an additional 49,929 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in Allegion by 2.5% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,741,165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $442,019,000 after buying an additional 91,011 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in Allegion by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,178,952 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $479,577,000 after buying an additional 39,905 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Allegion by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $306,699,000 after acquiring an additional 8,023 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its position in shares of Allegion by 13.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,904,632 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $277,581,000 after acquiring an additional 232,395 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on ALLE shares. Mizuho lifted their target price on Allegion from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Allegion in a research report on Monday. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $137.00 price objective on the stock. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $140.83.

Insider Activity

In other Allegion news, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 8,035 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.92, for a total transaction of $1,164,432.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,029,511.68. This trade represents a 53.07 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John H. Stone bought 7,500 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $140.70 per share, with a total value of $1,055,250.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,951,676.70. The trade was a 6.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Stock Performance

Shares of ALLE opened at $128.43 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.11. Allegion plc has a 52-week low of $113.27 and a 52-week high of $156.10. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $137.65 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.80.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.18. Allegion had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 45.64%. The business had revenue of $967.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $970.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.49%.

About Allegion

Allegion plc manufactures and sells mechanical and electronic security products and solutions worldwide. The company offers door controls and systems and exit devices; locks, locksets, portable locks, and key systems and services; electronic security products and access control systems; time, attendance, and workforce productivity systems; doors, accessories, and other.