Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) Short Interest Update

Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,540,000 shares, an increase of 5.5% from the November 30th total of 1,460,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 845,100 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days.

Allegion Trading Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ALLE opened at $130.68 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $11.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $138.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $135.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. Allegion has a 12-month low of $113.27 and a 12-month high of $156.10.

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

Allegion Announces Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO John H. Stone purchased 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were bought at an average price of $140.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,055,250.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,481 shares in the company, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 8,035 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.92, for a total transaction of $1,164,432.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,029,511.68. This represents 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.

Institutional Trading of Allegion

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Allegion by 3.6% in the second quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 2,620 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP bought a new position in Allegion in the 2nd quarter valued at about $302,000. nVerses Capital LLC acquired a new position in Allegion during the 2nd quarter valued at about $154,000. Fortem Financial Group LLC raised its position in shares of Allegion by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fortem Financial Group LLC now owns 5,359 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $633,000 after buying an additional 288 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Allegion by 398.8% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,631 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $193,000 after acquiring an additional 1,304 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on ALLE shares. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Allegion from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Allegion from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One 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 company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $144.60.

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.