AXQ Capital LP Buys Shares of 4,570 Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

AXQ Capital LP purchased a new position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 4,570 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $597,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ALLE. Boston Partners boosted its holdings in Allegion by 11.6% during the fourth quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,716,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $616,503,000 after buying an additional 488,390 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Allegion by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $589,659,000 after acquiring an additional 49,929 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Allegion by 8.1% in the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,436,127 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $449,033,000 after acquiring an additional 257,175 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Allegion by 0.4% during the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its holdings in Allegion by 13.9% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,904,632 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $277,581,000 after purchasing an additional 232,395 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target 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. Barclays decreased their target price on Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Allegion Stock Down 0.4 %

Shares of Allegion stock opened at $127.17 on Friday. Allegion plc has a 52-week low of $113.27 and a 52-week high of $156.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.04. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.46. The firm has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.65, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $938.91 million. Allegion had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 45.12%. On average, analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.91%.

Insider Activity at Allegion

In related news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the 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 in the company, valued at approximately $620,008.40. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total value of $257,535.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,302,000.02. This represents a 16.51 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,224 shares of company stock valued at $406,636. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.