Advisors Capital Management LLC Buys 1,536 Shares of Allegion PLC $ALLE

Key Points

• Advisors Capital Management LLC increased its position in Allegion PLC by 2.2%, now owning approximately $9.30 million worth of shares.
• Allegion reported $2.04 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations, and anticipates 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• Institutional investors own 92.21% of Allegion's stock, indicating dominant institutional interest in the company.

Advisors Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Allegion PLC (NYSE:ALLE - Free Report) by 2.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 71,313 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,536 shares during the quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC owned about 0.08% of Allegion worth $9,304,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,767,073 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,404,672,000 after acquiring an additional 48,615 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 22.5% during the 1st quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,776,203 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $623,104,000 after acquiring an additional 878,796 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners lifted its position in Allegion by 0.8% during the 1st quarter. Boston Partners now owns 4,752,391 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $619,700,000 after acquiring an additional 35,635 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA lifted its position in Allegion by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 2,147,110 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $280,112,000 after acquiring an additional 136,638 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Brown Advisory Inc. lifted its position in Allegion by 13.2% during the 1st quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 2,141,492 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $279,379,000 after acquiring an additional 249,295 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Allegion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE ALLE traded up $0.49 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $177.53. 261,626 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 958,912. Allegion PLC has a fifty-two week low of $116.57 and a fifty-two week high of $179.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a current ratio of 2.30 and a quick ratio of 1.64. The firm has a market cap of $15.24 billion, a PE ratio of 24.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.79 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $164.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $145.36.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.04 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $999.10 million. Allegion had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 42.62%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.96 earnings per share. Allegion has set its FY 2025 guidance at 8.000-8.150 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate 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 Tuesday, September 30th. Shareholders of record on Monday, September 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, September 15th. Allegion's payout ratio is 28.33%.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 3,849 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.92, for a total transaction of $634,777.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,773 shares in the company, valued at $1,446,843.16. The trade was a 30.49% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 10,810 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.76, for a total transaction of $1,781,055.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 30,023 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,946,589.48. This represents a 26.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of Allegion from $176.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday. Barclays raised shares of Allegion from an "underweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $156.00 to $163.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Allegion in a research note on Tuesday, June 24th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $170.00 target price on the stock. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Allegion from $150.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Bank of America upgraded shares of Allegion from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $110.00 to $175.00 in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $170.25.

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.