Columbia Asset Management Takes Position in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN)

Columbia Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 4,525 shares of the auto parts company’s stock, valued at approximately $489,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Citigroup Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Allison Transmission by 4.2% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 43,114 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $4,142,000 after acquiring an additional 1,733 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Allison Transmission by 6.3% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 79,358 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $7,658,000 after purchasing an additional 4,690 shares during the period. BNP Paribas Financial Markets raised its stake in shares of Allison Transmission by 30.0% during the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 34,958 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,358,000 after buying an additional 8,072 shares in the last quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allison Transmission in the third quarter valued at approximately $317,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors grew its holdings in Allison Transmission by 24.1% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 31,499 shares of the auto parts company’s stock worth $3,026,000 after acquiring an additional 6,113 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allison Transmission Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE:ALSN opened at $97.27 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $8.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.71 and a beta of 1.02. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $104.23 and its 200-day simple moving average is $106.59. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $71.49 and a 52-week high of $122.53. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The auto parts company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.11. Allison Transmission had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 47.95%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allison Transmission Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Allison Transmission’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Allison Transmission’s payout ratio is 13.00%.

Allison Transmission declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto parts company to buy up to 57.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually a sign that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALSN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Allison Transmission from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, March 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Allison Transmission from $115.00 to $108.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on Allison Transmission from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Allison Transmission from $129.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 18th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $101.13.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allison Transmission

In other news, VP Ryan A. Milburn sold 4,546 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $437,325.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,138 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,360,075.60. This represents a 24.33 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Allison Transmission Profile

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and medium- and heavy-tactical U.S. defense vehicles, and electrified propulsion systems worldwide. It provides commercial-duty on-highway, off-highway and defense fully automatic transmissions, and electric hybrid and fully electric systems.