Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Has $262.73 Million Stock Position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 5.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,010,472 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 105,840 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA’s holdings in Allegion were worth $262,728,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Allegion in the 4th quarter valued at $108,058,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its stake in shares of Allegion by 96.8% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,674,644 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $244,063,000 after acquiring an additional 823,874 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Allegion during the fourth quarter worth about $65,175,000. Boston Partners raised its stake in Allegion by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,716,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $616,503,000 after purchasing an additional 488,390 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its holdings in Allegion by 312.4% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 574,012 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $75,012,000 after purchasing an additional 434,820 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Allegion news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was 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. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack acquired 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $125.24 per share, with a total value of $1,001,920.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,001,920. This represents a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,224 shares of company stock valued at $406,636 over the last ninety days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays cut their target price on Allegion from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on shares of Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.67.

Allegion Stock Performance

ALLE stock opened at $127.21 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $10.98 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.01. 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 stock has a 50-day moving average price of $129.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.02. Allegion plc has a 1-year low of $113.27 and a 1-year high of $156.10.

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

Allegion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Allegion’s payout ratio is presently 29.91%.

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.