Merit Financial Group LLC Purchases New Stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Merit Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 2,157 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $282,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALLE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Allegion by 61.0% during the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 72 shares in the last quarter. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new stake in shares of Allegion during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new position in Allegion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Allegion by 65.2% in the 3rd quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 233 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in Allegion by 66.2% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $47,000 after buying an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on the company. StockNews.com cut Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho upped their target price on Allegion from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Allegion from $152.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Allegion in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $137.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.83.

Allegion Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE ALLE opened at $132.56 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.52 billion, a PE ratio of 20.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $135.09 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $137.04. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Allegion plc has a 12 month low of $113.27 and a 12 month high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 analysts’ expectations of $970.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.41 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, December 17th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.49%.

Insider Transactions at Allegion

In other Allegion news, CEO John H. Stone acquired 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $140.70 per share, with a total value of $1,055,250.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,951,676.70. This trade represents a 6.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate 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.