Denali Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN)

Denali Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN - Free Report) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 26,168 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $2,827,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC increased its position in shares of Allison Transmission by 24.3% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 12,745,697 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,224,479,000 after acquiring an additional 2,493,310 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC acquired a new position in shares of Allison Transmission in the 3rd quarter valued at $52,156,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P increased its position in shares of Allison Transmission by 252.5% in the 3rd quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 593,044 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $56,974,000 after acquiring an additional 424,813 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Allison Transmission by 34.2% in the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 914,918 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $87,896,000 after acquiring an additional 233,214 shares during the period. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Allison Transmission by 86.7% in the 3rd quarter. Victory Capital Management Inc. now owns 245,148 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $23,551,000 after acquiring an additional 113,868 shares during the period. 96.90% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

ALSN has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Allison Transmission from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Citigroup cut their target price on Allison Transmission from $120.00 to $115.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 12th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $112.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Allison Transmission from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $100.75.

Insider Transactions at Allison Transmission

In related news, SVP John Coll sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.40, for a total value of $216,800.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,420 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $695,928. This trade represents a 23.75 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Allison Transmission Stock Performance

ALSN traded up $1.33 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $101.79. 1,043,693 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 640,120. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $110.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.89. The firm has a market capitalization of $8.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.25 and a beta of 1.00. The company has a current ratio of 3.04, a quick ratio of 2.42 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a 1-year low of $71.49 and a 1-year high of $122.53.

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 11th. The auto parts company reported $2.01 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.90 by $0.11. Allison Transmission had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 47.95%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Allison Transmission Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Stockholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a dividend of $0.27 per share. This is a positive change from Allison Transmission's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, March 3rd. Allison Transmission's dividend payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

Allison Transmission declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the auto parts company to repurchase up to 57.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are generally a sign that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

About Allison Transmission

Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, designs, manufactures, and sells fully automatic transmissions for medium- and heavy-duty commercial vehicles and medium- and heavy-tactical U.S. defense vehicles, and electrified propulsion systems worldwide. It provides commercial-duty on-highway, off-highway and defense fully automatic transmissions, and electric hybrid and fully electric systems.