Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) Price Target Cut to $144.00 by Analysts at Robert W. Baird

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) had its price target trimmed by Robert W. Baird from $152.00 to $144.00 in a report published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley began coverage on Allegion in a report on Monday, January 6th. They issued an “equal weight” rating and a $137.00 price objective for the company. Barclays cut their price objective on Allegion from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 7th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note 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 data from MarketBeat, Allegion has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.33.

Allegion Price Performance

ALLE stock opened at $127.16 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $10.97 billion, a PE ratio of 18.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.99 and a beta of 1.11. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $131.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.24. Allegion has a 1 year low of $113.27 and a 1 year high of $156.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $938.91 million. Equities analysts forecast that Allegion will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.60%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 28.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of Allegion 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 completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $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 accessible through this link. Also, CEO John H. Stone purchased 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was bought at an average price of $140.70 per share, with a total value of $1,055,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 120,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,951,676.70. This trade represents a 6.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of ALLE. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI acquired a new position in shares of Allegion in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $116,484,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in Allegion in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $108,058,000. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC raised its position in Allegion by 96.8% during 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 purchasing an additional 823,874 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in Allegion during the fourth quarter worth $65,175,000. Finally, Boston Partners boosted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 11.6% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,716,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $616,503,000 after purchasing an additional 488,390 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

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.