Atala Financial Inc Makes New $35,000 Investment in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 269 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

Several other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. State Street Corp grew its position in Allegion by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $589,659,000 after purchasing an additional 49,929 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in Allegion by 8.1% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,436,127 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $449,033,000 after purchasing an additional 257,175 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Allegion by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $306,699,000 after purchasing an additional 8,023 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in Allegion by 13.9% during the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,904,632 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $277,581,000 after purchasing an additional 232,395 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position 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 last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP David S. Ilardi sold 789 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.28, for a total value of $98,845.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 9,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,820. The trade was a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total transaction of $50,254.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, 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. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have commented on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.33.

Allegion Stock Performance

ALLE opened at $126.73 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $129.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $136.80. Allegion plc has a 1 year low of $113.27 and a 1 year high of $156.10. The stock has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 firm had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $938.91 million. Equities research analysts anticipate that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Allegion’s payout ratio is presently 29.91%.

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.