Korea Investment CORP Purchases 54,864 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Korea Investment CORP grew its position in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 152.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 90,890 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 54,864 shares during the quarter. Korea Investment CORP owned about 0.10% of Allegion worth $11,878,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of ALLE. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Allegion by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,718,458 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $1,400,688,000 after acquiring an additional 177,808 shares in the last quarter. Boston Partners raised its stake in shares of Allegion by 11.6% in the fourth 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. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 1.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 4,045,966 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $589,659,000 after purchasing an additional 49,929 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its position in shares of Allegion by 8.1% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,436,127 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $449,033,000 after buying an additional 257,175 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Allegion by 0.4% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,111,414 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $306,699,000 after buying an additional 8,023 shares during the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Allegion

In other news, SVP Tracy L. Kemp sold 2,032 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $126.74, for a total value of $257,535.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,273 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,302,000.02. The trade was a 16.51 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP David S. Ilardi sold 789 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $125.28, for a total value of $98,845.92. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,625 shares in the company, valued at $1,205,820. This trade represents a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 3,224 shares of company stock worth $406,636. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Barclays dropped their price objective on Allegion from $130.00 to $126.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, March 26th. StockNews.com cut shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Allegion from $152.00 to $144.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and six have given a hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $137.67.

Allegion Price Performance

Allegion stock opened at $128.32 on Monday. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $129.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $136.25. Allegion plc has a 12 month low of $113.27 and a 12 month high of $156.10. The company has a market cap of $11.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 18.82, a PEG ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.11. 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 (NYSE:ALLE) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.11. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.12% and a net margin of 15.84%. The firm had revenue of $945.60 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $938.91 million. Sell-side analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.77 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a $0.51 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.59%. This is a positive change from Allegion’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.48. Allegion’s payout ratio is 29.91%.

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.