Principal Financial Group Inc. Sells 1,340 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Principal Financial Group Inc. lowered its position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 119,603 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 1,340 shares during the quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Allegion were worth $14,131,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of ALLE. Boston Partners grew its position in shares of Allegion by 1.5% during the first quarter. Boston Partners now owns 5,006,225 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $673,441,000 after purchasing an additional 72,773 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp grew its holdings in Allegion by 2.8% during the 1st quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,306,600 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $445,432,000 after buying an additional 90,951 shares in the last quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. raised its position in shares of Allegion by 33.0% during the fourth quarter. Brown Advisory Inc. now owns 1,895,352 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $240,122,000 after buying an additional 470,104 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA purchased a new position in shares of Allegion in the fourth quarter worth $120,959,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Allegion during the fourth quarter worth $110,740,000. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Allegion Stock Down 1.3 %

Shares of NYSE:ALLE opened at $135.60 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $11.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 22.12, a PEG ratio of 4.26 and a beta of 1.12. Allegion plc has a 12 month low of $95.94 and a 12 month high of $141.99. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.40. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $128.50 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.79.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.84 by $0.12. The company had revenue of $965.60 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $953.63 million. Allegion had a return on equity of 47.21% and a net margin of 15.08%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.76 earnings per share. Allegion’s revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th will be issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.42%. Allegion’s payout ratio is 31.32%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on ALLE shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Allegion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, July 27th. Barclays boosted their target price on Allegion from $112.00 to $117.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on Allegion from $125.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $125.40.

Allegion Company 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.