NEOS Investment Management LLC Grows Stock Holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

NEOS Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 21.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 28,014 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 5,030 shares during the quarter. NEOS Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Allegion were worth $3,661,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC increased its holdings in Allegion by 96.8% during the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,674,644 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $244,063,000 after purchasing an additional 823,874 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Allegion during the fourth quarter valued at $65,175,000. Boston Partners raised its holdings in shares of Allegion by 11.6% in the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,716,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $616,503,000 after acquiring an additional 488,390 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Allegion by 397.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 606,901 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $88,450,000 after acquiring an additional 484,995 shares during the period. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in Allegion by 312.4% during the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 574,012 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $75,012,000 after acquiring an additional 434,820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Allegion Price Performance

Shares of ALLE stock opened at $130.21 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.09, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $129.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $136.29. Allegion plc has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analysts’ expectations of $938.91 million. Allegion had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 45.12%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is an increase from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.57%. Allegion’s payout ratio is 29.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Allegion news, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total transaction of $257,535.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,302,000.02. The trade was a 16.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP David S. Ilardi sold 789 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,205,820. The trade was a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,224 shares of company stock valued at $406,636 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.