Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) Lifted to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

ALLE has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho cut shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $140.00 to $141.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Allegion from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut shares of Allegion from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.67.

Allegion Price Performance

Shares of ALLE stock opened at $129.75 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $131.03 and its two-hundred day moving average is $117.95. Allegion has a 12 month low of $95.94 and a 12 month high of $136.91. The company has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.20, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.14.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.68 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. Allegion had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The business had revenue of $897.40 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.17 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.60 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Allegion will post 7.01 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allegion news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.99, for a total transaction of $656,059.53. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 35,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,623,354.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.99, for a total transaction of $656,059.53. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 35,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,623,354.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John H. Stone acquired 10,000 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were bought at an average price of $132.41 per share, with a total value of $1,324,100.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,803,477.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Allegion

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Compass Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Allegion in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new stake in Allegion in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its position in Allegion by 19.3% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 23,634 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 3,823 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. raised its position in Allegion by 123.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 261 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 144 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC raised its position in Allegion by 153.3% in the 3rd quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 230 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Company 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.