Contravisory Investment Management Inc. Takes $531,000 Position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Contravisory Investment Management Inc. acquired a new position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 4,064 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $531,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Allegion during the third quarter worth $4,988,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Allegion in the 2nd quarter valued at about $27,056,000. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Allegion in the 3rd quarter valued at about $891,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 4.4% in 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 buying an additional 49,176 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew 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 buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Allegion news, CEO John H. Stone bought 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $140.70 per share, with a total value of $1,055,250.00. Following the purchase, the chief executive officer now owns 120,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,951,676.70. This represents a 6.64 % increase in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 8,035 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were 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 owns 7,104 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,029,511.68. This trade represents a 53.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Allegion Price Performance

ALLE stock opened at $131.10 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $11.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.14, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $136.30 and a 200-day simple moving average of $136.17. Allegion plc has a twelve month low of $113.27 and a twelve month high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $967.10 million during 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%. Allegion’s quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.94 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Allegion plc will post 7.41 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.46%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, December 17th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is presently 29.49%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on ALLE. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $140.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on shares of Allegion in a research report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $137.00 price objective for the company. StockNews.com cut Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Mizuho boosted their target price on Allegion from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have issued a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $140.83.

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.