Norges Bank Invests $108.06 Million in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Norges Bank bought a new stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 826,893 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $108,058,000. Norges Bank owned about 0.95% of Allegion at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALLE. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Allegion by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,718,458 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,400,688,000 after purchasing an additional 177,808 shares during the period. Boston Partners grew its holdings in 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 buying an additional 488,390 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its position in Allegion by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $589,659,000 after buying an additional 49,929 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 8.1% during the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Allegion by 0.4% in the third 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 acquiring an additional 8,023 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

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

Allegion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALLE opened at $130.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $129.40 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $136.11. Allegion plc has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $156.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted 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. Allegion had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 45.12%. The business had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $938.91 million. As a group, analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total transaction of $257,535.68. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,302,000.02. This represents a 16.51 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP David S. Ilardi sold 789 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 9,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,205,820. The trade was a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 3,224 shares of company stock worth $406,636 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

About Allegion

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.