Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. Makes New Investment in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Jupiter Asset Management Ltd. purchased a new stake in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 160,030 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,913,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Allegion by 2.4% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 122,481 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $17,850,000 after buying an additional 2,878 shares during the period. Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 8.9% in the third quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 9,112 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,328,000 after acquiring an additional 743 shares in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its stake in shares of Allegion by 29.1% during the third quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 617 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $90,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Allegion by 60.7% during the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,166 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $316,000 after purchasing an additional 818 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Versor Investments LP bought a new position in Allegion during the 3rd quarter valued at $627,000. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALLE has been the topic of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, 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, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.33.

Allegion Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE:ALLE opened at $123.91 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.82 and a 200 day simple moving average of $136.96. Allegion plc has a 52 week low of $113.27 and a 52 week high of $156.10. 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 company has a market cap of $10.69 billion, a PE ratio of 18.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.11. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. The company had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $938.91 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.77 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. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.91%.

Insider Transactions at Allegion

In related news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $50,254.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $620,008.40. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,302,000.02. The trade was a 16.51 % 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 three months. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.