Weatherly Asset Management L. P. Reduces Stock Holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Weatherly Asset Management L. P. cut its holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 3.4% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,721 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 166 shares during the period. Weatherly Asset Management L. P.’s holdings in Allegion were worth $598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALLE. Boston Partners lifted its stake in shares of Allegion by 17.2% during the third quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,613,219 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $584,157,000 after buying an additional 825,048 shares during the period. Hawk Ridge Capital Management LP purchased a new position in Allegion during the third quarter worth about $53,142,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in Allegion by 183.2% in the 3rd quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 774,325 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $80,684,000 after buying an additional 500,924 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Allegion by 20.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 2,773,767 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $289,026,000 after acquiring an additional 467,772 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,050,000. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.99, for a total transaction of $656,059.53. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 35,567 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,623,354.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Allegion news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.99, for a total transaction of $656,059.53. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 35,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,623,354.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO John H. Stone purchased 10,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were purchased at an average price of $132.41 per share, with a total value of $1,324,100.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 104,248 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,803,477.68. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.90% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on ALLE shares. Mizuho lowered shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $140.00 to $141.00 in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Allegion from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 2nd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Allegion from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Allegion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target on Allegion from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $127.83.

Allegion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALLE traded down $0.10 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $126.87. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 354,338 shares, compared to its average volume of 706,222. The company has a market cap of $11.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.51 and a beta of 1.14. Allegion plc has a one year low of $95.94 and a one year high of $136.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $130.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $119.44.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 20th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.59 by $0.09. The company had revenue of $897.40 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $904.17 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 14.80%. Allegion’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.60 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.02 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.51%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.37%.

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.