Venturi Wealth Management LLC Buys 533 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 24.6% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 2,699 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 533 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC’s holdings in Allegion were worth $353,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Allegion by 9.1% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 11,865 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,729,000 after acquiring an additional 988 shares in the last quarter. Bleakley Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Allegion during the 3rd quarter valued at about $205,000. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Allegion by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $73,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. increased its stake in Allegion by 55.1% during the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 726 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $106,000 after purchasing an additional 258 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Allegion in the third quarter worth about $201,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Stock Performance

ALLE stock opened at $127.05 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Allegion plc has a 1 year low of $113.27 and a 1 year high of $156.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $131.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $137.24.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.11. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.53% and a net margin of 15.84%. The business had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $938.91 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.91%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO John H. Stone bought 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $140.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,055,250.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 120,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,951,676.70. The trade was a 6.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,972 shares in the company, valued at $620,008.40. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on ALLE. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com downgraded Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays reduced their price objective on Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Allegion presently 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.