Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Invests $309,000 in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 2,436 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $309,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALLE. CWM LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 38.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 908 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 250 shares during the period. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in Allegion by 11.0% in the third quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 3,448 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $359,000 after buying an additional 342 shares in the last quarter. Oak Thistle LLC raised its stake in Allegion by 45.7% in the third quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 7,395 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $771,000 after buying an additional 2,319 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank raised its stake in Allegion by 47.4% in the third quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 15,342 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,599,000 after buying an additional 4,931 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC raised its stake in Allegion by 2.7% in the third quarter. Birch Hill Investment Advisors LLC now owns 14,032 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,462,000 after buying an additional 374 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Allegion

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

Allegion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALLE opened at $126.97 on Wednesday. Allegion plc has a fifty-two week low of $95.94 and a fifty-two week high of $136.91. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $130.57 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $119.44. The company has a market capitalization of $11.12 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a P/E/G ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.26.

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 the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $897.40 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $904.17 million. Allegion had a net margin of 14.80% and a return on equity of 51.95%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.01 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Investors of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.51%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.37%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Allegion from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 16th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Allegion from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research note on Wednesday, February 21st. Mizuho downgraded shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $140.00 to $141.00 in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Allegion from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Allegion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $127.83.

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.