Savant Capital LLC Decreases Stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Savant Capital LLC lowered its position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 7.4% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,729 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 139 shares during the quarter. Savant Capital LLC’s holdings in Allegion were worth $226,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new position in Allegion during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,988,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Allegion during the 3rd quarter valued at about $891,000. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its holdings in Allegion by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,175,995 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $154,643,000 after buying an additional 49,176 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Allegion by 4.5% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 204,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,724,000 after buying an additional 8,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Allegion by 4.1% during the 3rd 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 buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on ALLE. Barclays reduced their target price on Allegion from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Allegion from $152.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. StockNews.com downgraded Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Allegion in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $137.00 price target for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Allegion has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.83.

Allegion Price Performance

ALLE stock opened at $125.94 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.71. Allegion plc has a 52 week low of $113.27 and a 52 week high of $156.10. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $132.14 and its 200 day moving average is $137.42. The firm has a market cap of $10.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.35, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 1.11.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.11. Allegion had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 45.64%. Research analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.62%. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.49%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allegion

In other news, CEO John H. Stone purchased 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired 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 directly owns 120,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,951,676.70. This represents a 6.64 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Allegion Profile

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.