Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Merit Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE - Free Report) by 284.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 8,285 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after acquiring an additional 6,128 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Allegion were worth $1,081,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Allegion by 1.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,718,458 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,400,688,000 after buying an additional 177,808 shares during the period. Boston Partners raised 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 worth $616,503,000 after buying an additional 488,390 shares during the period. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised 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 worth $509,313,000 after buying an additional 38,377 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its stake in shares of Allegion by 8.1% during the 4th 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 during the period. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Allegion by 2.0% during the 4th 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 during the period. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently commented on the company. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Allegion from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Wall Street Zen cut Allegion from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price target on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Barclays upped their target price on Allegion from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have assigned a hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $140.40.

Allegion Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:ALLE traded down $1.80 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $137.88. The company had a trading volume of 643,835 shares, compared to its average volume of 867,212. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The company has a 50-day moving average of $135.80 and a 200 day moving average of $133.10. The company has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 20.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.02. 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 issued its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $941.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $918.53 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.48%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. Allegion's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.65%.

Allegion 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.