Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN) Shares Purchased by Merit Financial Group LLC

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN - Free Report) by 120.3% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,300 shares of the auto parts company's stock after acquiring an additional 2,894 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Allison Transmission were worth $507,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in shares of Allison Transmission during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SRH Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Allison Transmission during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Allison Transmission in the 4th quarter valued at $30,000. Vermillion Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Allison Transmission in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Allison Transmission in the fourth quarter worth $42,000. 96.90% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allison Transmission Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of NYSE ALSN traded down $1.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $101.14. 529,683 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 648,025. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a 1 year low of $71.49 and a 1 year high of $122.53. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $96.96 and a 200 day moving average of $104.12. The stock has a market cap of $8.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.17 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a quick ratio of 2.42, a current ratio of 3.04 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45.

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The auto parts company reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.97 by $0.26. Allison Transmission had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 47.95%. The firm had revenue of $766.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $792.18 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.90 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Allison Transmission declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that allows the company to buyback $5.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization allows 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 Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, May 30th. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 19th were given a $0.27 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, May 19th. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.07%. Allison Transmission's payout ratio is 12.50%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other 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 of the company's stock, valued at $1,466,938.04. The trade was a 10.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Ryan A. Milburn sold 3,412 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $105.24, for a total value of $359,078.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president now owns 11,924 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,254,881.76. This trade represents a 22.25% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 1.10% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

ALSN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Allison Transmission from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price objective on Allison Transmission from $123.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Allison Transmission from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Allison Transmission from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $98.13.

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.