Waterloo Capital L.P. Raises Stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Waterloo Capital L.P. lifted its position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 1.2% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 7,180 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P.’s holdings in Allegion were worth $938,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

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

Allegion Trading Down 2.9 %

Shares of ALLE opened at $123.53 on Monday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $129.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.78. The company has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Allegion plc has a twelve month low of $113.27 and a twelve month high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $938.91 million. As a group, analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is 29.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays cut their target price 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. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allegion news, SVP David S. Ilardi sold 789 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.28, for a total transaction of $98,845.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,205,820. This trade represents a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 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 value of $257,535.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,302,000.02. This trade represents a 16.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,224 shares of company stock worth $406,636 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Allegion 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.