Sapient Capital LLC Purchases Shares of 2,057 Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Sapient Capital LLC acquired a new position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 2,057 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $261,000.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALLE. CVA Family Office LLC acquired a new stake in Allegion during the 4th quarter worth about $28,000. Ancora Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Allegion by 153.3% in the third quarter. Ancora Advisors LLC now owns 380 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $40,000 after buying an additional 230 shares during the period. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in shares of Allegion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $48,000. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $60,000. Finally, Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Allegion by 37.9% in the 3rd quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 633 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $66,000 after acquiring an additional 174 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Allegion Stock Down 0.4 %

ALLE opened at $124.37 on Wednesday. Allegion plc has a 12 month low of $95.94 and a 12 month high of $136.91. The company has a market cap of $10.87 billion, a PE ratio of 20.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.38 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.31, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18. The company has a 50 day moving average of $129.14 and a 200 day moving average of $120.90.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.45 by $0.10. The company had revenue of $893.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $888.27 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 48.58% and a net margin of 14.93%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.58 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The company 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. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.54%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.32%.

Insider Transactions at Allegion

In related news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.99, for a total value of $656,059.53. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 35,567 shares in the company, valued at $4,623,354.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.99, for a total transaction of $656,059.53. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 35,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,623,354.33. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 5,391 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total transaction of $716,140.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now 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 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Allegion

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.