Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) Upgraded to “Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on ALLE. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their price objective on 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 boosted their price objective on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Allegion Stock Performance

NYSE:ALLE opened at $127.50 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.43. Allegion has a 1 year low of $113.27 and a 1 year high of $156.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $130.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $137.32. The company has a market cap of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $938.91 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Allegion will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company 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 $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 28.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, 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 value of $50,254.10. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO John H. Stone purchased 7,500 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was bought at an average cost of $140.70 per share, with a total value of $1,055,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 120,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,951,676.70. This represents a 6.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in ALLE. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI bought a new position in shares of Allegion in the 4th quarter worth $116,484,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Allegion in the 4th quarter worth $108,058,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in shares of Allegion by 96.8% in 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 acquiring an additional 823,874 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Allegion in the 4th quarter worth $65,175,000. Finally, Boston Partners raised its position in shares of Allegion by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,716,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $616,503,000 after acquiring an additional 488,390 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.