Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Grows Position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. increased its position in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 7.8% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 34,940 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 2,515 shares during the quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.’s holdings in Allegion were worth $4,427,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALLE. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 1.8% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,310,495 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $165,516,000 after buying an additional 23,155 shares in the last quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 214.1% in the fourth quarter. Vaughan Nelson Investment Management L.P. now owns 242,313 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $30,699,000 after buying an additional 165,165 shares in the last quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 39.7% in the third quarter. Dark Forest Capital Management LP now owns 33,364 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,477,000 after buying an additional 9,476 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 41.2% in the third quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 35,196 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $3,667,000 after buying an additional 10,272 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Morningstar Investment Services LLC raised its holdings in Allegion by 7.9% during the third quarter. Morningstar Investment Services LLC now owns 105,262 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $10,975,000 after purchasing an additional 7,678 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ALLE traded down $1.67 during trading on Thursday, hitting $124.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 931,973 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,848. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 1.26. Allegion plc has a fifty-two week low of $95.94 and a fifty-two week high of $136.91. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $130.48 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $119.49. The company has a market capitalization of $10.92 billion, a PE ratio of 20.68, a PEG ratio of 4.57 and a beta of 1.14.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.59 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $897.40 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $904.17 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 14.80%. Allegion’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.60 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.02 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. Allegion’s payout ratio is 31.37%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on ALLE shares. UBS Group boosted their price target on Allegion from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Barclays upped their target price on Allegion from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. StockNews.com raised Allegion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded Allegion from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $139.00 to $140.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Mizuho downgraded Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the stock from $140.00 to $141.00 in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.83.

Insider Transactions at Allegion

In other Allegion news, CEO John H. Stone acquired 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $132.41 per share, with a total value of $1,324,100.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,803,477.68. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO John H. Stone purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $132.41 per share, with a total value of $1,324,100.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 104,248 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,803,477.68. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 5,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total value of $716,140.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,003,606.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

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.