Citigroup Inc. Reduces Position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Citigroup Inc. decreased its holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 19.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 93,139 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 22,439 shares during the quarter. Citigroup Inc.’s holdings in Allegion were worth $13,574,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of ALLE. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Allegion by 2.5% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,741,165 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $442,019,000 after purchasing an additional 91,011 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,178,952 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $479,577,000 after buying an additional 39,905 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its stake in shares of Allegion by 13.9% in the 3rd quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 1,904,632 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $277,581,000 after buying an additional 232,395 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Allegion by 483.1% in the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 515,563 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $60,914,000 after acquiring an additional 427,146 shares during the period. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Allegion by 2.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 460,290 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $67,083,000 after acquiring an additional 13,095 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:ALLE opened at $141.41 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $12.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.72, a P/E/G ratio of 3.40 and a beta of 1.11. Allegion plc has a 1-year low of $103.19 and a 1-year high of $156.10. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $143.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $132.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.29.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $967.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $970.70 million. Allegion had a net margin of 15.36% and a return on equity of 45.64%. Allegion’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.94 EPS. Research analysts expect that Allegion plc will post 7.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, September 30th. Investors of record on Friday, September 20th were paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 20th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 29.49%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Barclays boosted their price target on Allegion from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the company an “underweight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, October 7th. Finally, Mizuho raised their target price on Allegion from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Allegion has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $144.60.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 8,035 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.92, for a total transaction of $1,164,432.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 7,104 shares in the company, valued at $1,029,511.68. This trade represents a 53.07 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.33% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.