Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) Shares Purchased by Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC

Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC increased its holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 4.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 126,676 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 5,236 shares during the period. Grantham Mayo Van Otterloo & Co. LLC owned about 0.15% of Allegion worth $16,554,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Riverwater Partners LLC acquired a new position in Allegion during the 4th quarter valued at about $304,000. Prudential PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 14.6% in the fourth quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 33,067 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $4,321,000 after acquiring an additional 4,223 shares in the last quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Allegion by 1,190.7% during the fourth quarter. ExodusPoint Capital Management LP now owns 71,803 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $9,383,000 after acquiring an additional 66,240 shares during the period. Bryce Point Capital LLC bought a new stake in Allegion during the fourth quarter worth approximately $490,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Allegion by 5.6% in the fourth quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,010,472 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $262,728,000 after purchasing an additional 105,840 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allegion Stock Performance

Allegion stock opened at $123.53 on Friday. Allegion plc has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $156.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.10 and its 200-day simple moving average is $135.84. 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 company has a market cap of $10.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.01.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $938.91 million. Allegion had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 45.12%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th were given a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.65%. This is a positive change from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, March 14th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is 29.91%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total transaction of $257,535.68. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,273 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,302,000.02. This trade represents a 16.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total value of $50,254.10. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 3,224 shares of company stock worth $406,636. 0.33% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.