Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Reduces Holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. cut its holdings in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 3.4% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,721 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Allegion were worth $598,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion during the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Ancora Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Allegion by 153.3% during the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allegion during the 3rd quarter valued at about $48,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in shares of Allegion during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $60,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC raised its position in Allegion by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 633 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $66,000 after purchasing an additional 174 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on ALLE. Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Allegion from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com raised Allegion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Allegion from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Mizuho downgraded shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $140.00 to $141.00 in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price objective on Allegion from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Allegion news, CEO John H. Stone purchased 10,000 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $132.41 per share, with a total value of $1,324,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,803,477.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.99, for a total transaction of $656,059.53. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 35,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,623,354.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John H. Stone acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $132.41 per share, for a total transaction of $1,324,100.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,248 shares in the company, valued at $13,803,477.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Allegion Price Performance

NYSE:ALLE traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $126.87. The stock had a trading volume of 354,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 706,222. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.14. Allegion plc has a one year low of $95.94 and a one year high of $136.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.44.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. Allegion had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 14.80%. The company had revenue of $897.40 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.17 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.60 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.02 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.51%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 31.37%.

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.