Martingale Asset Management L P Acquires New Holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Martingale Asset Management L P bought a new position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 4,004 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $523,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of ALLE. Millstone Evans Group LLC bought a new stake in Allegion in the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 56.1% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 320 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Allegion by 78.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 388 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,000 after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Allegion by 33.6% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 402 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Price Performance

Shares of Allegion stock opened at $125.02 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company has a market cap of $10.79 billion, a PE ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.01. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $127.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $134.87. Allegion plc has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released 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. Allegion had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 45.12%. The business had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $938.91 million. Analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.63%. Allegion’s payout ratio is 29.91%.

Insider Activity at Allegion

In other Allegion news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total transaction of $50,254.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,972 shares in the company, valued at $620,008.40. This trade represents a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total value of $257,535.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,302,000.02. This represents a 16.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,224 shares of company stock worth $406,636. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ALLE shares. StockNews.com cut Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Allegion from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of 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 decreased their price target on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target 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 equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allegion currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

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.