Korea Investment CORP Raises Stock Holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Korea Investment CORP increased its stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 152.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 90,890 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 54,864 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP’s holdings in Allegion were worth $11,878,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALLE. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its position in shares of Allegion by 42.7% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 5,265 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $768,000 after buying an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC increased its stake in Allegion by 39.7% in the third quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 18,903 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,755,000 after acquiring an additional 5,373 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. purchased a new stake in Allegion during the third quarter valued at about $205,000. FMR LLC lifted its stake in Allegion by 231.9% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 290,466 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $42,333,000 after purchasing an additional 202,957 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Allegion in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. 92.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the company. Barclays decreased their price objective on Allegion from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on shares of Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.67.

Allegion Price Performance

ALLE stock opened at $128.32 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $129.55 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.25. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Allegion plc has a 12-month low of $113.27 and a 12-month high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $938.91 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Allegion’s payout ratio is 29.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allegion

In other news, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total value of $257,535.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,302,000.02. This trade represents a 16.51 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $50,254.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $620,008.40. The trade was a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,224 shares of company stock valued at $406,636. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.