Nomura Holdings Inc. Purchases New Position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

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

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fiduciary Management Inc. WI purchased a new stake in shares of Allegion in the 4th quarter worth approximately $116,484,000. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Allegion during the fourth quarter valued at $108,058,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Allegion during the fourth quarter valued at $65,175,000. Boston Partners raised its position 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 worth $616,503,000 after purchasing an additional 488,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH boosted its stake in Allegion by 312.4% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 574,012 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $75,012,000 after purchasing an additional 434,820 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company's stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

Allegion Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALLE traded down $0.86 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $143.67. 201,642 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 993,295. The company's 50 day moving average price is $133.41 and its 200-day moving average price is $133.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32, a current ratio of 2.04 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The firm has a market cap of $12.36 billion, a PE ratio of 21.07, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.02. Allegion plc has a 52 week low of $113.27 and a 52 week high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.68 by $0.18. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. The business had revenue of $941.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $918.53 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.55 EPS. Allegion's revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Investors of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 13th. This represents a $2.04 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.42%. Allegion's dividend payout ratio is presently 28.65%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

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

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.