Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) in a research note released on Monday morning, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an equal weight rating and a $137.00 price objective on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently commented on ALLE. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on shares of Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on Allegion from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Allegion from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $143.33.

Allegion Price Performance

NYSE ALLE opened at $129.07 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $11.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.83, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $137.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $135.72. Allegion has a 1 year low of $113.27 and a 1 year high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.18. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.64% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $967.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $970.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Allegion will post 7.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity at Allegion

In other Allegion news, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 8,035 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,511.68. This represents a 53.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John H. Stone purchased 7,500 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $140.70 per share, with a total value of $1,055,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 120,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,951,676.70. The trade was a 6.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Allegion

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Allegion during the third quarter worth about $4,988,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new position in Allegion in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,056,000. Andra AP fonden acquired a new position in shares of Allegion during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $10,704,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Allegion in the third quarter valued at approximately $891,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Allegion by 4.1% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 8,643 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,260,000 after purchasing an additional 340 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.