Victory Capital Management Inc. Sells 20,495 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Victory Capital Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 33.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 40,250 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 20,495 shares during the quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Allegion were worth $5,260,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALLE. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its position in Allegion by 96.8% during the third 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 period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in Allegion by 397.8% during the third 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 buying an additional 484,995 shares in the last quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in Allegion by 312.4% during the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 574,012 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $75,012,000 after buying an additional 434,820 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Allegion by 8.1% during the fourth 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 buying an additional 257,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its stake in Allegion by 13.9% during the third 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 buying an additional 232,395 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALLE. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allegion currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.33.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $50,254.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $620,008.40. The trade was a 7.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total transaction of $257,535.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,302,000.02. This trade represents a 16.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,224 shares of company stock worth $406,636 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Trading Up 1.4 %

ALLE opened at $126.73 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $129.68 and its 200-day moving average is $136.80. Allegion plc has a 1-year low of $113.27 and a 1-year high of $156.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.11. Allegion had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 45.12%. The company had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $938.91 million. Equities research analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.91%.

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.