Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D cut its stake in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 1.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 28,679 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 333 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Allegion were worth $3,748,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of ALLE. Brooklyn Investment Group acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion in the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new position in Allegion during the third quarter worth about $29,000. Cromwell Holdings LLC lifted its position in Allegion by 65.2% in the third quarter. Cromwell Holdings LLC now owns 233 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in Allegion in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $71,000. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its position in Allegion by 44.9% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 500 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $73,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares during the period. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALLE has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target on Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price target on shares of Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Allegion from $134.00 to $130.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have assigned a hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allegion has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $138.33.

Allegion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALLE opened at $126.40 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.71, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $131.57 and its 200 day moving average price is $137.32. Allegion plc has a 52 week low of $113.27 and a 52 week high of $156.10. The stock has a market cap of $10.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.42, a PEG ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 1.11.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.11. Allegion had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 45.64%. The business had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $938.91 million. As a group, research analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. This is an increase from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.61%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio is currently 29.49%.

Insider Activity at Allegion

In related news, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total transaction of $50,254.10. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,972 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $620,008.40. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO John H. Stone bought 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $140.70 per share, with a total value of $1,055,250.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,481 shares in the company, valued at $16,951,676.70. This trade represents a 6.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

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.