Swiss National Bank Sells 12,900 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Swiss National Bank trimmed its holdings in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 5.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 246,200 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 12,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Allegion were worth $32,173,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of ALLE. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in shares of Allegion during the third quarter valued at approximately $4,988,000. Crew Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in Allegion by 224.9% during the 4th quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 5,810 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 4,022 shares during the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Allegion during the 3rd quarter valued at $891,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 204,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $26,724,000 after buying an additional 8,806 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in shares of Allegion by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,175,995 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $154,643,000 after acquiring an additional 49,176 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.33.

Allegion Stock Up 0.6 %

ALLE opened at $127.42 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.04. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $129.65 and its 200 day moving average is $136.73. Allegion plc has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.11. The firm had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $938.91 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Allegion’s payout ratio is 29.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $50,254.10. Following 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack acquired 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $125.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,920.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now directly owns 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,920. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 3,224 shares of company stock worth $406,636. 0.33% of the stock is owned by 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.