Atala Financial Inc Invests $35,000 in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Atala Financial Inc bought a new position in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 269 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $35,000.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its holdings in shares of Allegion by 96.8% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,674,644 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $244,063,000 after purchasing an additional 823,874 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Allegion in the fourth quarter valued at about $65,175,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Allegion by 397.8% in the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 606,901 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $88,450,000 after purchasing an additional 484,995 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Allegion by 312.4% in the fourth quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 574,012 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $75,012,000 after purchasing an additional 434,820 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in shares of Allegion by 8.1% in the fourth 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 purchasing an additional 257,175 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE ALLE opened at $126.73 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $129.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.04. Allegion plc has a one year low of $113.27 and a one year high of $156.10. The firm has a market cap of $10.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.58, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11.

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

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.61%. This is an increase from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Allegion’s payout ratio is currently 29.91%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack purchased 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was bought at an average price of $125.24 per share, for a total transaction of $1,001,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now directly owns 8,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,001,920. The trade was a ? increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total transaction of $257,535.68. Following the completion of 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,224 shares of company stock worth $406,636 over the last 90 days. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on ALLE shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price target 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. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Allegion has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.33.

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.