Vontobel Holding Ltd. Reduces Stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Vontobel Holding Ltd. decreased its stake in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 8.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,635 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 145 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd.’s holdings in Allegion were worth $214,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its stake in Allegion by 96.8% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,674,644 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $244,063,000 after acquiring an additional 823,874 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its stake in Allegion by 397.8% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 606,901 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $88,450,000 after acquiring an additional 484,995 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Allegion by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,436,127 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $449,033,000 after acquiring an additional 257,175 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Allegion by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,904,632 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $277,581,000 after acquiring an additional 232,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, FMR LLC increased its stake in Allegion by 231.9% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 290,466 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $42,333,000 after acquiring an additional 202,957 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALLE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday. StockNews.com lowered Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Barclays decreased their price objective on Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allegion news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack acquired 8,000 shares of the business’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 transaction, the director now owns 8,000 shares in the company, valued at $1,001,920. This represents a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John H. Stone acquired 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $140.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,055,250.00. Following the completion of 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 position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALLE opened at $127.16 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Allegion plc has a 1-year low of $113.27 and a 1-year high of $156.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $131.32 and its 200 day moving average is $137.24.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations 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 anticipate that Allegion plc will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Allegion’s payout ratio is 28.15%.

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.