Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN) Shares Purchased by Access Investment Management LLC

Access Investment Management LLC boosted its holdings in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN) by 0.6% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 21,960 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 140 shares during the period. Access Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Allison Transmission were worth $2,373,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DGS Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Allison Transmission by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its holdings in Allison Transmission by 0.7% in 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 purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP lifted 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 valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares in the last quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its holdings in Allison Transmission by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,697 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in Allison Transmission by 7.1% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,939 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $210,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. 96.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allison Transmission Stock Down 1.6 %

ALSN opened at $100.76 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $111.49 and a 200 day moving average price of $104.48. The company has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 1.00. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.35 and a 1 year high of $122.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 3.04.

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) last posted its 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 net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 47.95%. Sell-side analysts expect that Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Allison Transmission Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. This is a positive change from Allison Transmission’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Allison Transmission’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 12.03%.

Allison Transmission announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto parts company to buy up to 57.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALSN. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Allison Transmission from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Allison Transmission from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “underperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Allison Transmission from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective 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 research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $100.75.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David S. Graziosi sold 11,590 shares of Allison Transmission stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.44, for a total transaction of $1,384,309.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 168,833 shares in the company, valued at $20,165,413.52. This trade represents a 6.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP John Coll sold 2,000 shares of Allison Transmission stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.40, for a total transaction of $216,800.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,420 shares in the company, valued at $695,928. This represents a 23.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 20,639 shares of company stock worth $2,448,077 over the last 90 days. Company 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.