Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Allegion (NYSE:ALLE – Get Rating) in a research report report published on Thursday. The brokerage issued a buy rating on the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on ALLE. Vertical Research raised Allegion from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $128.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 3rd. Mizuho lifted their price target on shares of Allegion from $123.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Allegion from $108.00 to $119.00 and gave the company an equal weight rating in a report on Thursday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Allegion from $121.00 to $130.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, January 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Allegion from $116.00 to $132.00 in a research note on Monday, February 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and six have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Allegion has an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $122.78.

Allegion Trading Down 2.7 %

NYSE ALLE opened at $103.32 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.20, a quick ratio of 1.05 and a current ratio of 1.73. The firm has a market cap of $9.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.95, a PEG ratio of 2.53 and a beta of 1.10. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $114.19 and a 200-day simple moving average of $106.26. Allegion has a one year low of $87.33 and a one year high of $123.46.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE – Get Rating) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 22nd. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.60 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.22. Allegion had a net margin of 14.00% and a return on equity of 61.54%. The company had revenue of $861.50 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $849.15 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.11 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 21.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts anticipate that Allegion will post 6.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 31st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, March 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.45 per share. This is a positive change from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, March 14th. This represents a $1.80 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.74%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.75%.

Institutional Trading of Allegion

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. BlackRock Inc. increased its position in Allegion by 1.7% during the third quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 7,446,502 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $667,802,000 after buying an additional 127,546 shares during the period. Boston Partners increased its holdings in shares of Allegion by 6.0% in the 4th quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,035,051 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $426,038,000 after acquiring an additional 227,955 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in Allegion by 0.4% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,007,238 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $294,409,000 after purchasing an additional 11,660 shares during the last quarter. AKO Capital LLP grew its position in Allegion by 9.0% during the 3rd quarter. AKO Capital LLP now owns 2,692,558 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $241,469,000 after purchasing an additional 223,117 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Balyasny Asset Management LLC grew its position in Allegion by 6.8% during the 3rd quarter. Balyasny Asset Management LLC now owns 1,714,028 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $153,714,000 after purchasing an additional 109,878 shares during the last quarter. 92.78% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Allegion

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Allegion Plc engages in the provision of security products and solutions that keep people safe, secure, and productive. It operates through the Allegion Americas and Allegion International segments. Its brands include CISA, Interflex, LCN, Schlage, SimonsVoss, and Von Duprin. The company was founded on May 9, 2013 and is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland.