Raymond James & Associates Has $59.19 Million Holdings in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Raymond James & Associates increased its position in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) by 14.4% during the first quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 439,415 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock after buying an additional 55,243 shares during the quarter. Raymond James & Associates’ holdings in Allegion were worth $59,194,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Essex Savings Bank increased its holdings in Allegion by 98.0% during the 1st quarter. Essex Savings Bank now owns 3,386 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $442,000 after purchasing an additional 1,676 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Wealth Management purchased a new stake in shares of Allegion in the first quarter valued at about $205,000. Norden Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Allegion in the first quarter valued at about $2,271,000. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV boosted its holdings in Allegion by 1.8% during the first quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 23,373 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $3,149,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in Allegion by 5.3% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 215,829 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $29,074,000 after purchasing an additional 10,896 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.21% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Stock Performance

ALLE stock traded up $0.62 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $122.88. 603,785 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 587,880. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $129.31 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $120.38. The firm has a market capitalization of $10.74 billion, a PE ratio of 20.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.18, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 1.31. Allegion plc has a 52 week low of $95.94 and a 52 week high of $136.91.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.45 by $0.10. Allegion had a return on equity of 48.58% and a net margin of 14.93%. The firm had revenue of $893.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $888.27 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Allegion plc will post 7.08 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, June 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 14th will be given a dividend of $0.48 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. This represents a $1.92 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.56%. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.32%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction on Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.99, for a total transaction of $656,059.53. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 35,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,623,354.33. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Allegion news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.99, for a total transaction of $656,059.53. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 35,567 shares in the company, valued at $4,623,354.33. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 5,391 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total transaction of $716,140.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,555 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,003,606.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.33% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on ALLE. UBS Group increased their price target on Allegion from $113.00 to $132.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 16th. StockNews.com raised Allegion from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Mizuho downgraded shares of Allegion from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $140.00 to $141.00 in a report on Friday, February 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company downgraded shares of Allegion from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $139.00 to $140.00 in a report on Wednesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Allegion from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 2nd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Allegion presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $127.83.

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.