Allegion PLC (NYSE:ALLE) Shares Sold by Bessemer Group Inc.

Bessemer Group Inc. cut its position in Allegion PLC (NYSE:ALLE - Free Report) by 89.0% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 1,955 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 15,763 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc.'s holdings in Allegion were worth $255,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of ALLE. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI acquired a new position in Allegion during the fourth quarter valued at $116,484,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Allegion during the 4th quarter valued at about $108,058,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Allegion in the 4th quarter valued at about $65,175,000. Boston Partners lifted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 11.6% in 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 buying an additional 488,390 shares during the period. Finally, Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 24.8% in the fourth quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 2,089,239 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $273,022,000 after buying an additional 414,595 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allegion Price Performance

Allegion stock traded up $0.16 during trading on Friday, reaching $148.11. The company had a trading volume of 411,792 shares, compared to its average volume of 868,417. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 1.01. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $141.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $133.20. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.17. Allegion PLC has a 1-year low of $113.27 and a 1-year high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.18. Allegion had a net margin of 16.28% and a return on equity of 44.82%. The business had revenue of $941.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $918.53 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.55 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Allegion PLC will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.38%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 13th. Allegion's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.65%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ALLE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Allegion from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Allegion from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Allegion in a research report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Allegion from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, March 7th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $145.33.

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.