Verdence Capital Advisors LLC Reduces Holdings in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN)

Verdence Capital Advisors LLC trimmed its stake in shares of Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN) by 5.3% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 2,258 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after selling 127 shares during the quarter. Verdence Capital Advisors LLC’s holdings in Allison Transmission were worth $244,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of ALSN. DGS Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Allison Transmission by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Allison Transmission by 0.7% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,370 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $1,661,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the period. Amalgamated Bank boosted its position in Allison Transmission by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,381 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its holdings in Allison Transmission by 46.7% in the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 358 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd increased its position in shares of Allison Transmission by 3.5% in the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,697 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $355,000 after acquiring an additional 126 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on ALSN shares. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Allison Transmission from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com downgraded Allison Transmission from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Allison Transmission from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $100.75.

Allison Transmission Price Performance

NYSE ALSN opened at $98.12 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a 12 month low of $71.49 and a 12 month high of $122.53. The company’s 50 day moving average is $109.32 and its two-hundred day moving average is $105.30. The stock has a market cap of $8.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.81 and a beta of 1.00.

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The auto parts company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.11. Allison Transmission had a return on equity of 47.95% and a net margin of 22.67%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Allison Transmission Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd will be issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. This is a boost from Allison Transmission’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.10%. Allison Transmission’s payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Allison Transmission declared that its Board of Directors has approved a share repurchase plan on Thursday, February 20th that permits the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the auto parts company to repurchase up to 57.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allison Transmission

In other Allison Transmission news, SVP John Coll sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.40, for a total transaction of $216,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,420 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $695,928. This represents a 23.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Allison Transmission

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and medium- and heavy-tactical U.S. defense vehicles, and electrified propulsion systems worldwide. It provides commercial-duty on-highway, off-highway and defense fully automatic transmissions, and electric hybrid and fully electric systems.