Short Interest in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) Declines By 8.7%

Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) was the recipient of a significant decrease in short interest in November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,570,000 shares, a decrease of 8.7% from the October 31st total of 1,720,000 shares. Currently, 1.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 796,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.0 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on ALLE. Mizuho boosted their price objective on Allegion from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Allegion from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price target on shares of Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Allegion from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $144.60.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 8,035 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.92, for a total value of $1,164,432.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,104 shares in the company, valued at $1,029,511.68. This represents a 53.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allegion

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new position in Allegion in the third quarter valued at $15,508,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion in the third quarter valued at approximately $311,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Allegion by 4.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 18,871 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $2,668,000 after acquiring an additional 844 shares during the last quarter. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $71,000. Finally, Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in Allegion during the third quarter worth about $920,000. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allegion Stock Up 0.1 %

NYSE:ALLE traded up $0.08 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $140.48. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 797,876 shares, compared to its average volume of 727,260. The company has a quick ratio of 1.29, a current ratio of 1.71 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.21 billion, a PE ratio of 21.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 1.10. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $143.83 and a 200-day moving average of $133.00. Allegion has a 1 year low of $104.25 and a 1 year high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.16 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $967.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $970.70 million. Allegion had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 45.64%. Allegion’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Allegion will post 7.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th were given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 20th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.37%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.49%.

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.