Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) Lowered to “Hold” Rating by StockNews.com

StockNews.com cut shares of Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on Allegion in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $137.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Allegion from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, Barclays cut their target price on Allegion from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.83.

Allegion Stock Up 0.9 %

Shares of NYSE ALLE opened at $133.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.29. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $135.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $136.79. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.48, a P/E/G ratio of 3.34 and a beta of 1.11. Allegion has a 1 year low of $113.27 and a 1 year high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $967.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $970.70 million. Allegion had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 45.64%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.94 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Allegion will post 7.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Allegion’s payout ratio is 29.49%.

Insider Transactions at Allegion

In other news, CEO John H. Stone purchased 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was bought 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 owns 120,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,951,676.70. The trade was a 6.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allegion

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in ALLE. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Allegion in the third quarter valued at approximately $4,988,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP bought a new stake in Allegion during the 3rd quarter valued at $891,000. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Allegion by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,175,995 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $154,643,000 after acquiring an additional 49,176 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its position in shares of Allegion by 4.1% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 8,643 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,260,000 after acquiring an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 107.6% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 24,424 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,560,000 after acquiring an additional 12,659 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.