BankPlus Trust Department Buys New Shares in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

BankPlus Trust Department bought a new stake in 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 firm bought 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $65,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Street Corp grew its position in Allegion by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $589,659,000 after purchasing an additional 49,929 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its position in shares of Allegion by 8.1% in the 4th 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 acquiring an additional 257,175 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Allegion by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $306,699,000 after acquiring an additional 8,023 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Allegion by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,904,632 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $277,581,000 after acquiring an additional 232,395 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC grew its position in shares of Allegion by 96.8% in the 3rd 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 acquiring an additional 823,874 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently commented on ALLE shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective 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. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allegion presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.33.

Allegion Stock Performance

Shares of ALLE stock opened at $127.97 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.76, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a current ratio of 2.04. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $130.90 and a 200 day simple moving average of $137.37. Allegion plc has a 52 week low of $113.27 and a 52 week high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 45.12%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.59%. Allegion’s payout ratio is 28.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allegion news, CEO John H. Stone acquired 7,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $140.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,055,250.00. Following 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 is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total transaction of $50,254.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $620,008.40. The trade was a 7.50 % 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.

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.