Quartz Partners LLC Purchases 170 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Quartz Partners LLC raised its holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 3.8% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 4,618 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 170 shares during the quarter. Quartz Partners LLC’s holdings in Allegion were worth $603,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. State Street Corp grew its stake 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 worth $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% during the 4th quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,436,127 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $449,033,000 after buying an additional 257,175 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Allegion by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $306,699,000 after buying an additional 8,023 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in shares of Allegion by 13.9% during the third 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 buying an additional 232,395 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised 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 acquiring an additional 823,874 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. Robert W. Baird cut their target price 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allegion presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Allegion Price Performance

Shares of ALLE stock opened at $127.16 on Monday. Allegion plc has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $156.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 2.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.64, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $131.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.38.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $945.60 million for 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced 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. This is a positive change from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $50,254.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $620,008.40. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Gregg C. Sengstack acquired 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $125.24 per share, with a total value of $1,001,920.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the director now owns 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,920. This trade represents a ∞ increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Allegion Company 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.