Watchtower Advisors LP Acquires Shares of 128,000 Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Watchtower Advisors LP bought a new position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund bought 128,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $18,655,000. Allegion makes up about 8.6% of Watchtower Advisors LP’s holdings, making the stock its 6th largest holding.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in ALLE. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Allegion by 61.0% in the third quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the last quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 0.5% in the 2nd quarter. Greenwich Wealth Management LLC now owns 14,908 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,761,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,913 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $425,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Thrive Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Allegion by 5.0% during the 3rd quarter. Thrive Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,844 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $269,000 after purchasing an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its position in Allegion by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,620 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allegion Price Performance

ALLE opened at $140.32 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.10. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Allegion plc has a 12-month low of $104.25 and a 12-month high of $156.10. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $143.65 and its 200-day simple moving average is $133.22.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.18. Allegion had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 45.64%. The company had revenue of $967.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $970.70 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Allegion plc will post 7.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Investors of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.49%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ALLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on Allegion from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Allegion from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Finally, Barclays raised their price target on shares of Allegion from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allegion presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $144.60.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 8,035 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.92, for a total transaction of $1,164,432.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,029,511.68. This represents a 53.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO John H. Stone bought 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $140.70 per share, with a total value of $1,055,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 120,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,951,676.70. This represents a 6.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.