Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) Stock Price Down 5% – Here’s What Happened

Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) shares were down 5% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $127.86 and last traded at $126.66. Approximately 157,059 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 80% from the average daily volume of 802,278 shares. The stock had previously closed at $133.39.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently commented on ALLE shares. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on shares of Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. StockNews.com cut Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Allegion currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $138.33.

Allegion Stock Up 0.4 %

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 firm has a 50 day moving average of $131.32 and a two-hundred day moving average of $137.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.04 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 1.11.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $938.91 million. Allegion had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 45.53%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Allegion plc will post 7.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This is a boost from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Allegion’s payout ratio is presently 29.91%.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO John H. Stone bought 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was acquired at an average price of $140.70 per share, with a total value of $1,055,250.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,951,676.70. This trade represents a 6.64 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were 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 owns 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $620,008.40. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Allegion

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,718,458 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,400,688,000 after purchasing an additional 177,808 shares during the period. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in Allegion by 11.6% during the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,716,756 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $616,503,000 after buying an additional 488,390 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in Allegion by 1.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $589,659,000 after buying an additional 49,929 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Allegion by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,897,407 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $509,313,000 after buying an additional 38,377 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Allegion by 8.1% in the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,436,127 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $449,033,000 after buying an additional 257,175 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allegion Company Profile

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.