Islay Capital Management LLC Raises Holdings in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN)

Islay Capital Management LLC raised its position in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN) by 9.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 10,813 shares of the auto parts company’s stock after acquiring an additional 922 shares during the quarter. Islay Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Allison Transmission were worth $1,168,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALSN. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its holdings in Allison Transmission by 301.1% in the 4th quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 2,378,731 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $257,046,000 after acquiring an additional 1,785,687 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Allison Transmission in the fourth quarter worth $108,916,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Allison Transmission during the 4th quarter valued at $41,081,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Allison Transmission by 88.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 200,997 shares of the auto parts company’s stock valued at $19,310,000 after buying an additional 94,229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Allison Transmission by 177.7% in the 4th quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 144,951 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $15,663,000 after buying an additional 92,754 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Allison Transmission Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALSN opened at $86.01 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $102.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.41. The firm has a market cap of $7.33 billion, a PE ratio of 10.35 and a beta of 0.95. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a one year low of $71.49 and a one year high of $122.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a current ratio of 3.04.

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The auto parts company reported $2.01 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.11. Allison Transmission had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 47.95%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. will post 9.06 EPS for the current year.

Allison Transmission Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a dividend of $0.27 per share. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.26%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. This is a positive change from Allison Transmission’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Allison Transmission’s dividend payout ratio is currently 13.00%.

Allison Transmission declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto parts company to purchase up to 57.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are usually a sign that the company’s management believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Allison Transmission from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Allison Transmission from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Allison Transmission from $129.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Allison Transmission from $115.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 31st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Allison Transmission presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $101.13.

Insider Transactions at Allison Transmission

In related news, SVP John Coll sold 1,788 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.33, for a total value of $170,450.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,388 shares in the company, valued at $1,466,938.04. This represents a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP Ryan A. Milburn sold 4,546 shares of Allison Transmission stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $437,325.20. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 14,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,360,075.60. The trade was a 24.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.10% of the company’s stock.

About Allison Transmission

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and medium- and heavy-tactical U.S. defense vehicles, and electrified propulsion systems worldwide. It provides commercial-duty on-highway, off-highway and defense fully automatic transmissions, and electric hybrid and fully electric systems.