Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) Declares Dividend Increase – $0.51 Per Share

Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) declared a quarterly dividend on Thursday, February 6th,RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of 0.51 per share by the scientific and technical instruments company on Monday, March 31st. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.58%. This is a positive change from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48.

Allegion has increased its dividend payment by an average of 10.1% per year over the last three years. Allegion has a dividend payout ratio of 22.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Allegion to earn $7.61 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.92 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 25.2%.

Allegion Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE ALLE opened at $129.27 on Friday. Allegion has a 52-week low of $113.27 and a 52-week high of $156.10. 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 company’s 50-day simple moving average is $133.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $137.48. The firm has a market cap of $11.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.86, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 1.11.

Insider Activity

In other Allegion news, CEO John H. Stone purchased 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $140.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,055,250.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now owns 120,481 shares in the company, valued at $16,951,676.70. This trade represents a 6.64 % increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently commented on ALLE. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered 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. Barclays cut their price objective on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $134.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Morgan Stanley started coverage on Allegion in a report on Monday, January 6th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $137.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com raised Allegion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Allegion has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price 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.