Sterling Capital Management LLC Acquires 41,976 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Sterling Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 1,258.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 45,311 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41,976 shares during the period. Sterling Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Allegion were worth $5,921,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALLE. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC grew its position in Allegion by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 22,273 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $2,911,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 3.2% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 2,645 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $346,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Waterloo Capital L.P. grew its position in shares of Allegion by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Waterloo Capital L.P. now owns 7,180 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $938,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its holdings in Allegion by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 452 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $59,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors increased its position in shares of Allegion by 2.8% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,541 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $516,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allegion Trading Up 2.4 %

Shares of ALLE stock opened at $125.02 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $10.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.01. Allegion plc has a 12-month low of $113.27 and a 12-month high of $156.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $127.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $134.87. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced 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 firm had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $938.91 million. Allegion had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 45.12%. Equities research analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.63%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 29.91%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALLE has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Allegion from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com lowered Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of 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 investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Insider Transactions at Allegion

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

Allegion 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.