AQR Capital Management LLC Buys 149,744 Shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 179.6% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 233,103 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after acquiring an additional 149,744 shares during the quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC owned approximately 0.27% of Allegion worth $30,462,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Lido Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Allegion by 8.6% during the 4th quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,512 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $328,000 after acquiring an additional 198 shares in the last quarter. Northern Trust Corp raised its holdings in shares of Allegion by 22.4% in the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 971,276 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $126,926,000 after buying an additional 177,443 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Allegion by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 64,631 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock valued at $8,446,000 after buying an additional 652 shares during the last quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL raised its stake in Allegion by 57.3% in the 4th quarter. Tudor Investment Corp ET AL now owns 66,101 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $8,638,000 after acquiring an additional 24,068 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado acquired a new stake in Allegion during the 4th quarter worth about $17,131,000. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALLE has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Allegion from $126.00 to $128.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Allegion from $144.00 to $150.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Allegion from $140.00 to $135.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com lowered Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating and five have given a hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $140.40.

Allegion Trading Up 1.6 %

NYSE:ALLE opened at $140.84 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 2.04, a quick ratio of 1.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.32. The firm has a market cap of $12.12 billion, a PE ratio of 20.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.97 and a beta of 1.02. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $128.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $133.36. Allegion plc has a 12-month low of $113.27 and a 12-month high of $156.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.68 by $0.18. Allegion had a net margin of 15.84% and a return on equity of 45.12%. The business had revenue of $941.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $918.53 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.55 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Allegion plc will post 7.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, June 30th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 13th will be issued a $0.51 dividend. This represents a $2.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, June 13th. Allegion’s payout ratio is currently 28.65%.

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.