Nomura Holdings Inc. Invests $375,000 in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Nomura Holdings Inc. bought a new stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 2,866 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $375,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of ALLE. Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 28.9% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 259,793 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $37,861,000 after purchasing an additional 58,268 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 10.4% during the 4th quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 3,847 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $503,000 after buying an additional 362 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Allegion during the 4th quarter valued at $282,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors purchased a new position in shares of Allegion during the 4th quarter valued at $277,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Allegion by 383.5% during the fourth quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 11,460 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 9,090 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.21% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages have weighed in on ALLE. Wall Street Zen lowered Allegion from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Barclays boosted their price target on Allegion from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the company an "underweight" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on shares of Allegion from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on shares of Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have issued a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $140.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allegion

In other Allegion news, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total transaction of $257,535.68. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,273 shares in the company, valued at $1,302,000.02. The trade was a 16.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP David S. Ilardi sold 789 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.28, for a total transaction of $98,845.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,625 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,205,820. This represents a 7.58% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.33% of the company's stock.

Allegion Stock Performance

Allegion stock traded down $0.32 on Friday, reaching $141.31. 617,189 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 851,070. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. Allegion plc has a twelve month low of $113.27 and a twelve month high of $156.10. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $132.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $133.04. The stock has a market cap of $12.16 billion, a PE ratio of 20.72, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.02.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.18. The firm had revenue of $941.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $918.53 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be given a dividend of $0.51 per share. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.44%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Allegion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 28.65%.

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.