Bank of Nova Scotia Sells 27,413 Shares of Allegion PLC (NYSE:ALLE)

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its position in Allegion PLC (NYSE:ALLE - Free Report) by 71.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 10,759 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock after selling 27,413 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia's holdings in Allegion were worth $1,404,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Allegion during the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Colonial Trust Co SC increased its stake in shares of Allegion by 192.9% in the 4th quarter. Colonial Trust Co SC now owns 249 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Garde Capital Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Allegion during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. GeoWealth Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Allegion by 259.3% during the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 309 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oakworth Capital Inc. acquired a new stake in Allegion in the first quarter valued at about $46,000. 92.21% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on ALLE. Bank of America raised shares of Allegion from an "underperform" rating to a "neutral" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $110.00 to $175.00 in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Allegion from $139.00 to $151.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Mizuho boosted their target price on shares of Allegion from $145.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of Allegion in a report on Tuesday, June 24th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $170.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on Allegion from $149.00 to $170.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Allegion presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $165.88.

Allegion Trading Down 0.5%

Shares of NYSE ALLE opened at $163.63 on Friday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $148.53 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $137.59. The stock has a market cap of $14.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.73, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.53 and a beta of 1.05. Allegion PLC has a 52-week low of $116.57 and a 52-week high of $167.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 2.30.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, July 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $1.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $999.10 million. Allegion had a net margin of 16.15% and a return on equity of 42.62%. Allegion's revenue for the quarter was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.96 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Allegion PLC will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Allegion

In other news, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 3,849 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.92, for a total transaction of $634,777.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 8,773 shares in the company, valued at $1,446,843.16. This trade represents a 30.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.23% of the company's stock.

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.

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