Polaris Capital Management LLC Trims Stock Position in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. $ALSN

Key Points

• Polaris Capital Management trimmed its Allison Transmission stake by 11.4% in Q4 to 268,600 shares (about 0.32% of the company), making ALSN its 23rd largest holding and worth roughly $26.3 million to the fund.
• Shares trade near a 52-week high (~$135.64) while analysts hold a consensus "Hold" with an average target of $114.13, implying potential downside from current levels.
• Allison raised its quarterly dividend to $0.29 (annualized $1.16, 0.9% yield), and insider Eric C. Scroggins sold 1,313 shares on March 9, reducing his ownership by about 6.9%.

Polaris Capital Management LLC cut its stake in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN - Free Report) by 11.4% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 268,600 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 34,500 shares during the period. Allison Transmission comprises approximately 2.2% of Polaris Capital Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 23rd largest position. Polaris Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.32% of Allison Transmission worth $26,296,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of ALSN. Rossby Financial LCC lifted its position in Allison Transmission by 107.0% in the third quarter. Rossby Financial LCC now owns 296 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its position in Allison Transmission by 93.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 452 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 218 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Corp purchased a new stake in Allison Transmission in the third quarter valued at $40,000. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. lifted its position in Allison Transmission by 4,716.7% in the third quarter. SJS Investment Consulting Inc. now owns 578 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 566 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. acquired a new position in Allison Transmission in the fourth quarter valued at $51,000. 96.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Eric C. Scroggins sold 1,313 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $114.40, for a total transaction of $150,207.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 17,654 shares in the company, valued at $2,019,617.60. The trade was a 6.92% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Allison Transmission Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of Allison Transmission stock opened at $135.64 on Friday. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a 52-week low of $76.01 and a 52-week high of $136.94. The company has a quick ratio of 4.17, a current ratio of 4.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.55. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $120.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.09. The firm has a market cap of $11.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.81 and a beta of 0.97.

Allison Transmission Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 9th were paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This represents a $1.16 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. This is a positive change from Allison Transmission's previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 9th. Allison Transmission's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 15.83%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALSN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Allison Transmission from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 25th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Allison Transmission from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Allison Transmission from $98.00 to $127.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Allison Transmission from $109.00 to $117.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Allison Transmission from $87.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, one has issued a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $114.13.

Allison Transmission Company Profile

Allison Transmission Holdings Inc is a global designer, manufacturer and seller of fully automatic transmissions and hybrid propulsion systems for commercial duty vehicles and off-highway equipment. The company's products are engineered to improve fuel efficiency, reduce emissions and enhance performance across a broad range of industries. Allison's core transmission portfolio serves applications such as on-highway trucks and buses, medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles, and military ground vehicles.

In addition to conventional automatic transmissions, Allison offers advanced hybrid systems that integrate electric motors with mechanical transmission components.

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