Natixis Advisors LLC Sells 26,766 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 24.2% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 83,767 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 26,766 shares during the period. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Allegion were worth $10,947,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALLE. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new position in shares of Allegion during the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,988,000. Crew Capital Management Ltd. lifted its stake in Allegion by 224.9% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new position in Allegion in the third quarter valued at approximately $891,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 4.5% in the fourth 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 period. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Allegion by 4.4% during 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 in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allegion Price Performance

Shares of ALLE opened at $128.81 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.89, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11. 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’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.60. 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 (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 45.12%. On average, research analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is 29.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allegion

In other Allegion news, SVP David S. Ilardi sold 789 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.28, for a total transaction of $98,845.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,205,820. This trade represents a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack bought 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $125.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,920. This trade represents a ? increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Insiders sold 3,224 shares of company stock valued at $406,636 in the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

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.