JPMorgan Chase & Co. Buys 192,609 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 31.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 801,520 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after purchasing an additional 192,609 shares during the quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s holdings in Allegion were worth $116,814,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Allegion by 61.0% during the 3rd quarter. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. now owns 190 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 72 shares during the period. Brooklyn Investment Group purchased a new position in shares of Allegion during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Concord Wealth Partners bought a new position in shares of Allegion during the third quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Allegion by 65.2% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 233 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Allegion by 66.2% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 324 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Price Performance

ALLE stock opened at $130.68 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.71. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $138.75 and a 200-day moving average price of $135.31. Allegion plc has a 52-week low of $113.27 and a 52-week high of $156.10. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.18. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.64% and a net margin of 15.36%. The business had revenue of $967.10 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $970.70 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.94 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.47%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.49%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allegion news, CEO John H. Stone purchased 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average price of $140.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,055,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,951,676.70. This trade represents a 6.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 8,035 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.92, for a total value of $1,164,432.20. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,511.68. The trade was a 53.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Allegion from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird lifted their price objective on Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Allegion from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho lifted their price target on Allegion from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.60.

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.