Russell Investments Group Ltd. Sells 100,714 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its position in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 10.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 825,861 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 100,714 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.95% of Allegion worth $107,929,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. TD Private Client Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Allegion by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 19,697 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,871,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the period. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Allegion by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Douglass Winthrop Advisors LLC now owns 22,273 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,911,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP lifted its position in shares of Allegion by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 2,645 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $346,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. IFP Advisors Inc boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 23.2% in the fourth quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 452 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $59,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its position in shares of Allegion by 2.8% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 3,541 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $516,000 after purchasing an additional 96 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

ALLE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on Allegion from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $137.67.

Allegion Stock Down 2.9 %

Shares of NYSE:ALLE opened at $123.53 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.11, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.01. Allegion plc has a 12 month low of $113.27 and a 12 month high of $156.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $135.84.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) 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 analyst estimates of $938.91 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.65%. Allegion’s payout ratio is 29.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $50,254.10. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $620,008.40. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP David S. Ilardi sold 789 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,820. The trade was a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 3,224 shares of company stock valued at $406,636. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.