Prudential Financial Inc. Increases Stock Position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Prudential Financial Inc. grew its stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 77.1% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 67,145 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 29,237 shares during the period. Prudential Financial Inc.’s holdings in Allegion were worth $8,775,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion in the third quarter valued at $28,000. Millstone Evans Group LLC acquired a new position in Allegion in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Allegion during the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its position in shares of Allegion by 56.1% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 320 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 115 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 78.0% in the fourth quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 388 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $50,254.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,972 shares in the company, valued at $620,008.40. This trade represents a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP David S. Ilardi sold 789 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.28, for a total value of $98,845.92. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,205,820. The trade was a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 3,224 shares of company stock valued at $406,636 over the last three months. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on ALLE. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Allegion from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Allegion Trading Down 1.4 %

NYSE ALLE opened at $128.32 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $129.55 and its 200 day moving average price is $136.25. Allegion plc has a 12 month low of $113.27 and a 12 month high of $156.10. 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 has a market capitalization of $11.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.11. The business had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $938.91 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is 29.91%.

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.