Insider Buying: Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) Director Buys $1,001,920.00 in Stock

Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) Director Gregg C. Sengstack acquired 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $125.24 per share, with a total value of $1,001,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,920. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link.

Allegion Price Performance

NYSE:ALLE opened at $127.16 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The firm has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $131.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $137.38. Allegion plc has a 1-year low of $113.27 and a 1-year high of $156.10.

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

Allegion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Allegion’s payout ratio is presently 28.15%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allegion

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Allegion by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,718,458 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,400,688,000 after acquiring an additional 177,808 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners increased its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 488,390 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Allegion by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $589,659,000 after acquiring an additional 49,929 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Allegion by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,897,407 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $509,313,000 after acquiring an additional 38,377 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in Allegion by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,436,127 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $449,033,000 after acquiring an additional 257,175 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on ALLE shares. StockNews.com cut shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. 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 research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective 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. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased 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 note on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Allegion currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.33.

About Allegion

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.