Bank of America Corp DE Lowers Stock Position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Bank of America Corp DE lessened its holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 42.3% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 701,741 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 515,276 shares during the quarter. Bank of America Corp DE’s holdings in Allegion were worth $91,704,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allegion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in shares of Allegion during the 4th quarter worth approximately $35,000. GeoWealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 259.3% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 309 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 223 shares in the last quarter. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 56.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 320 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 78.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 388 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $51,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Trading Up 0.5%

Shares of ALLE opened at $141.60 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $129.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $132.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a market capitalization of $12.18 billion, a PE ratio of 20.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.02. Allegion plc has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $941.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $918.53 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. Allegion’s revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.55 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Allegion’s payout ratio is 28.65%.

Insider Transactions at Allegion

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack acquired 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $125.24 per share, with a total value of $1,001,920.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,920. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were 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 directly owns 10,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,302,000.02. The trade was a 16.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,224 shares of company stock worth $406,636 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com lowered Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on Allegion from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Allegion from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.40.

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.