Franklin Resources Inc. Lowers Stock Holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Franklin Resources Inc. lessened its holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 19.5% in the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 49,768 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after selling 12,020 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc.’s holdings in Allegion were worth $7,438,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Raymond James Trust N.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 3.6% in the second quarter. Raymond James Trust N.A. now owns 4,905 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $580,000 after buying an additional 170 shares in the last quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Allegion by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Patriot Financial Group Insurance Agency LLC now owns 3,596 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $425,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. grew its position in shares of Allegion by 147.6% during the second quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. now owns 468 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $55,000 after purchasing an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its holdings in shares of Allegion by 4.2% in the second quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 26,754 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,161,000 after purchasing an additional 1,075 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Crewe Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Allegion by 160.2% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 242 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. 92.21% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Allegion

In other Allegion news, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 8,035 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $144.92, for a total value of $1,164,432.20. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,104 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,029,511.68. The trade was a 53.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO John H. Stone bought 7,500 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $140.70 per share, for a total transaction of $1,055,250.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 120,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,951,676.70. This trade represents a 6.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Allegion Stock Performance

NYSE:ALLE opened at $132.18 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.49 billion, a PE ratio of 20.30, a PEG ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.10. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $141.83 and its 200 day moving average is $134.64. Allegion plc has a fifty-two week low of $113.27 and a fifty-two week high of $156.10. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.29 and a current ratio of 1.71.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 business 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%. The business’s revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.94 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Allegion plc will post 7.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a $0.48 dividend. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, December 17th. Allegion’s payout ratio is currently 29.49%.

About Allegion

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.