Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC Buys 5,236 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC lifted its position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 4.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 126,676 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 5,236 shares during the quarter. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC’s holdings in Allegion were worth $16,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of ALLE. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Allegion during the third quarter valued at about $4,988,000. Crew Capital Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Allegion by 224.9% in the 4th quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 5,810 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $759,000 after buying an additional 4,022 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Allegion by 4.5% in 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 during the last quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 73.5% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 18,761 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,452,000 after buying an additional 7,950 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Allegion by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,175,995 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $154,643,000 after acquiring an additional 49,176 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allegion Price Performance

Allegion stock opened at $123.53 on Friday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.10 and a 200 day simple moving average of $135.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a PE ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.01. Allegion plc has a one year low of $113.27 and a one year high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.11. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. The company had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $938.91 million. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Allegion from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on 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 lowered Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target 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 research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $137.67.

Insider Transactions at Allegion

In other Allegion news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total transaction of $50,254.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $620,008.40. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack bought 8,000 shares of the company’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 completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,920. The trade was a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 3,224 shares of company stock valued at $406,636. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.