Boston Partners Raises Holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Boston Partners increased its position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 11.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 4,716,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 488,390 shares during the quarter. Allegion comprises about 0.8% of Boston Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Boston Partners owned 5.43% of Allegion worth $616,503,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also made changes to their positions in ALLE. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Allegion in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new position in shares of Allegion in the 4th quarter worth $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its holdings in Allegion by 56.1% in 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 in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased 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 valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its holdings 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 valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 101 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts recently issued reports on ALLE shares. Barclays lowered their price target on Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley raised 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. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, March 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.33.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allegion news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 owns 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $620,008.40. This trade represents a 7.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP David S. Ilardi sold 789 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.28, for a total transaction of $98,845.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,205,820. This trade represents a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,224 shares of company stock worth $406,636. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Trading Up 0.6 %

Allegion stock opened at $127.42 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11. Allegion plc has a 1 year low of $113.27 and a 1 year high of $156.10. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $129.65 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.73.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $938.91 million. On average, research analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a 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 payout ratio is presently 29.91%.

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.