Raymond James & Associates Buys 23,762 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Raymond James & Associates increased its stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 6.6% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 384,172 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,762 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates owned 0.44% of Allegion worth $48,671,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in Allegion by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 4,601 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $484,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Horizon Investments LLC grew its position in Allegion by 7.1% in the 2nd quarter. Horizon Investments LLC now owns 1,414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $170,000 after purchasing an additional 94 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its position in Allegion by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 638 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $66,000 after purchasing an additional 104 shares during the period. iA Global Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Allegion by 5.4% in the 3rd quarter. iA Global Asset Management Inc. now owns 2,200 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $229,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the period. Finally, First Manhattan Co. grew its position in Allegion by 13.6% in the 4th quarter. First Manhattan Co. now owns 984 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $104,000 after purchasing an additional 118 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity at Allegion

In related news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.99, for a total value of $656,059.53. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 35,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,623,354.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.99, for a total value of $656,059.53. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 35,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,623,354.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 5,391 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total value of $716,140.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,555 shares in the company, valued at $1,003,606.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on ALLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Allegion from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho downgraded shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $140.00 to $141.00 in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Allegion from $119.00 to $121.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Allegion presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.50.

Allegion Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE ALLE opened at $134.24 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.93, a PEG ratio of 4.79 and a beta of 1.13. Allegion plc has a one year low of $95.94 and a one year high of $136.91. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $129.38 and its 200-day moving average is $115.99.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.68 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $897.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.17 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 14.80%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.60 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.01 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 29th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.45. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 14th. Allegion’s payout ratio is currently 31.37%.

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.