Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN) Shares Sold by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. trimmed its position in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN) by 20.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,440 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 1,147 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Allison Transmission were worth $480,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALSN. Smith Group Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allison Transmission in the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,161,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Allison Transmission by 18.8% during the fourth quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 293,753 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $31,643,000 after purchasing an additional 46,435 shares during the last quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in Allison Transmission by 4.6% in the third quarter. Glenmede Trust Co. NA now owns 97,150 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $9,333,000 after purchasing an additional 4,261 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Allison Transmission in the third quarter worth $947,000. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Allison Transmission by 46.8% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 250,050 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $24,955,000 after purchasing an additional 79,745 shares during the last quarter. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALSN has been the subject of several research reports. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Allison Transmission from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered Allison Transmission from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Allison Transmission from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP John Coll sold 2,000 shares of Allison Transmission stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $108.40, for a total transaction of $216,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,420 shares in the company, valued at approximately $695,928. This trade represents a 23.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 1.10% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Allison Transmission Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE ALSN opened at $95.88 on Friday. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.49 and a 12-month high of $122.53. The company has a market cap of $8.20 billion, a PE ratio of 11.54 and a beta of 1.00. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $109.54 and a 200-day simple moving average of $105.22. The company has a current ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The auto parts company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.11. Allison Transmission had a return on equity of 47.95% and a net margin of 22.67%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. will post 9.06 EPS for the current year.

Allison Transmission Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a boost from Allison Transmission’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.13%. Allison Transmission’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 13.00%.

Allison Transmission declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto parts company to reacquire up to 57.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically a sign that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Allison Transmission Profile

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and medium- and heavy-tactical U.S. defense vehicles, and electrified propulsion systems worldwide. It provides commercial-duty on-highway, off-highway and defense fully automatic transmissions, and electric hybrid and fully electric systems.