Magnetar Financial LLC Buys New Stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 33,652 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,398,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion in the 3rd quarter valued at about $4,988,000. Crew Capital Management Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Allegion by 224.9% in the 4th quarter. Crew Capital Management Ltd. now owns 5,810 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $759,000 after purchasing an additional 4,022 shares in the last quarter. Qsemble Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion in the 3rd quarter valued at about $891,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Allegion by 4.5% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 204,500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $26,724,000 after purchasing an additional 8,806 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB raised 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 purchasing an additional 49,176 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Allegion

In related news, Director Gregg C. Sengstack purchased 8,000 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $125.24 per share, with a total value of $1,001,920.00. Following the purchase, the director now owns 8,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,001,920. The trade was a ∞ increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP David S. Ilardi sold 789 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was 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 directly owns 9,625 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,205,820. This represents a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 3,224 shares of company stock valued at $406,636. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on ALLE shares. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on shares of Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered 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. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $138.33.

Allegion Price Performance

NYSE ALLE opened at $127.77 on Friday. Allegion plc has a 52 week low of $113.27 and a 52 week high of $156.10. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The stock has a market cap of $11.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.66 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $136.54.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 EPS 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 firm had revenue of $945.60 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $938.91 million. Analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a $0.51 dividend. This is a positive change from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.91%.

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.