Heritage Investors Management Corp Makes New $229,000 Investment in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Heritage Investors Management Corp purchased a new position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor purchased 1,750 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $229,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Allegion by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $589,659,000 after acquiring an additional 49,929 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Allegion by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,436,127 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $449,033,000 after acquiring an additional 257,175 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in Allegion by 0.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $306,699,000 after acquiring an additional 8,023 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in Allegion by 13.9% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,904,632 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $277,581,000 after acquiring an additional 232,395 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its holdings in Allegion by 96.8% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,674,644 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $244,063,000 after acquiring an additional 823,874 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack bought 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $125.24 per share, with a total value of $1,001,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,920. This represents a ∞ increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $50,254.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $620,008.40. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Stock Performance

Shares of ALLE opened at $127.50 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.69, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $130.70 and a 200 day moving average of $137.32. Allegion plc has a 12 month low of $113.27 and a 12 month high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $938.91 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.15%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on ALLE shares. StockNews.com upgraded Allegion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays lowered their price objective on Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their price objective on Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.33.

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.