Lord Abbett & CO. LLC Raises Stock Position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its position in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 24.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,089,239 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 414,595 shares during the period. Allegion accounts for 0.9% of Lord Abbett & CO. LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 19th biggest position. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC owned 2.40% of Allegion worth $273,022,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of ALLE. Voya Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Allegion by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 34,511 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,510,000 after purchasing an additional 5,938 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Allegion in the fourth quarter worth about $2,234,000. MGO One Seven LLC acquired a new stake in Allegion in the fourth quarter worth about $755,000. Dark Forest Capital Management LP increased its holdings in shares of Allegion by 11.1% during the fourth quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 10,953 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,431,000 after acquiring an additional 1,091 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Tennessee Department of Treasury raised its position in shares of Allegion by 62.4% in the 4th quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 72,843 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $9,519,000 after purchasing an additional 27,986 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Barclays decreased their price target 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. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.80.

Insider Activity at Allegion

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack purchased 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $125.24 per share, with a total value of $1,001,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,920. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total transaction of $50,254.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $620,008.40. The trade was a 7.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 3,224 shares of company stock valued at $406,636. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Stock Up 10.4 %

ALLE opened at $139.56 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $127.05 and a two-hundred day moving average of $133.84. Allegion plc has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $156.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.46, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.04.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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. On average, research analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Allegion’s payout ratio is presently 29.91%.

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.