Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN) Downgraded by StockNews.com to "Hold"

StockNews.com downgraded shares of Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on ALSN. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Allison Transmission from $123.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Raymond James decreased their target price on Allison Transmission from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Citigroup cut their price target on Allison Transmission from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Allison Transmission from $112.00 to $94.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $97.88.

Allison Transmission Stock Up 4.9 %

Shares of ALSN stock traded up $4.30 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $92.69. 15,924 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 756,168. The company has a market capitalization of $7.90 billion, a PE ratio of 11.15 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a current ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. The business has a 50 day moving average of $95.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $105.82. Allison Transmission has a 52 week low of $71.49 and a 52 week high of $122.53.

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The auto parts company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.11. Allison Transmission had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 47.95%. Analysts anticipate that Allison Transmission will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allison Transmission declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback 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 reacquire up to 57.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Allison Transmission Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd were paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.17%. This is a positive change from Allison Transmission's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, March 3rd. Allison Transmission's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 13.00%.

Insider Activity

In other Allison Transmission news, SVP John Coll sold 1,788 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.33, for a total transaction of $170,450.04. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 15,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,466,938.04. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, VP Ryan A. Milburn sold 4,546 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $437,325.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 14,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,360,075.60. This trade represents a 24.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 1.20% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Allison Transmission

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allison Transmission during the 3rd quarter valued at $270,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Allison Transmission by 23.4% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 61,449 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $5,902,000 after acquiring an additional 11,666 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Allison Transmission in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new stake in Allison Transmission during the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Finally, Tri Ri Asset Management Corp bought a new stake in Allison Transmission during the 3rd quarter valued at $5,932,000. 96.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allison Transmission Company 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.