Brown Advisory Inc. Reduces Holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Brown Advisory Inc. reduced its holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE - Free Report) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,892,197 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 237,988 shares during the quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. owned about 2.18% of Allegion worth $247,272,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Allegion by 1.7% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,718,458 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,400,688,000 after acquiring an additional 177,808 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners boosted its stake in shares of 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 valued at $616,503,000 after purchasing an additional 488,390 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 1.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 38,377 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in 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 worth $449,033,000 after buying an additional 257,175 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Allegion by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,152,831 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $280,607,000 after buying an additional 41,417 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Allegion

In other news, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total transaction of $257,535.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,273 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,302,000.02. The trade was a 16.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Nickolas A. Musial sold 403 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $124.70, for a total transaction of $50,254.10. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,972 shares in the company, valued at $620,008.40. This represents a 7.50 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 3,224 shares of company stock worth $406,636 over the last quarter. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Allegion Stock Up 0.3 %

Allegion stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $140.30. The stock had a trading volume of 898,929 shares, compared to its average volume of 837,194. Allegion plc has a one year low of $113.27 and a one year high of $156.10. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $128.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.18. The company has a market capitalization of $12.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.57, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.43.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $941.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $918.53 million. Allegion had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 45.12%. The business's revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Allegion's payout ratio is 28.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALLE has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. StockNews.com downgraded Allegion from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays increased their price objective on Allegion from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Allegion from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective 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, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $140.40.

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.