Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. Boosts Holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 9.9% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 3,109 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co.’s holdings in Allegion were worth $406,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in ALLE. Millstone Evans Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allegion in the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Atala Financial Inc purchased a new stake in Allegion in the fourth quarter worth about $35,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in shares of Allegion by 56.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 320 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 115 shares during the period. Tortoise Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Allegion by 78.0% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 388 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $51,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Allegion by 33.6% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 402 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 101 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Allegion from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Allegion has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Insider Activity

In other Allegion news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction 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 directly 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 transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP David S. Ilardi sold 789 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.28, for a total transaction of $98,845.92. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,205,820. This represents a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 3,224 shares of company stock worth $406,636. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Allegion Trading Up 1.8 %

Shares of ALLE stock opened at $130.58 on Tuesday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $11.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11. Allegion plc has a 12-month low of $113.27 and a 12-month high of $156.10. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $129.48 and its 200-day moving average price is $136.19.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.11. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $938.91 million. Equities research analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, March 14th. This is an increase from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Allegion’s payout ratio is 29.91%.

Allegion 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.