2,327 Shares in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) Purchased by Riverwater Partners LLC

Riverwater Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 2,327 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $304,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALLE. FMR LLC grew its position in shares of Allegion by 231.9% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 290,466 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $42,333,000 after acquiring an additional 202,957 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in Allegion by 11.9% in the third quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 3,748 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $546,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the period. Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Allegion by 2.8% in 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 purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Allegion by 100.7% in the third quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 11,229 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,637,000 after buying an additional 5,634 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. lifted its position in shares of Allegion by 323.5% during the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 1,512 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $220,000 after buying an additional 1,155 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total value of $257,535.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now 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 sale 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $620,008.40. The trade was a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,224 shares of company stock valued at $406,636 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Trading Down 2.9 %

ALLE opened at $123.53 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $135.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.01. Allegion plc has a 1-year low of $113.27 and a 1-year high of $156.10.

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

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. 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 1.65%. Allegion’s payout ratio is 29.91%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALLE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com cut shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays cut their price objective on Allegion from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $137.67.

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.