Kennedy Capital Management LLC Makes New Investment in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN)

Kennedy Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 25,787 shares of the auto parts company's stock, valued at approximately $2,787,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in ALSN. DGS Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Allison Transmission by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. DGS Capital Management LLC now owns 3,424 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its stake in shares of Allison Transmission by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,370 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,661,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System lifted its holdings in Allison Transmission by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 25,289 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $2,733,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Amalgamated Bank boosted its stake in shares of Allison Transmission by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 6,381 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $690,000 after buying an additional 103 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its stake in Allison Transmission by 7.1% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,939 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 129 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Allison Transmission Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:ALSN traded up $0.62 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $88.80. 632,211 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 643,883. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $96.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $105.98. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 0.95. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.45, a current ratio of 3.04 and a quick ratio of 2.42. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a 12-month low of $71.49 and a 12-month high of $122.53.

Allison Transmission (NYSE:ALSN - Get Free Report) last issued 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%. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. will post 9.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Allison Transmission declared that its board has initiated 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 reacquire up to 57.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Allison Transmission Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, March 14th. Investors of record on Monday, March 3rd were issued a $0.27 dividend. This is a positive change from Allison Transmission's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 3rd. This represents a $1.08 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.22%. Allison Transmission's payout ratio is presently 13.00%.

Insider Transactions at Allison Transmission

In other Allison Transmission news, VP Ryan A. Milburn sold 4,546 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.20, for a total transaction of $437,325.20. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 14,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,360,075.60. The trade was a 24.33 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP John Coll sold 1,788 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.33, for a total value of $170,450.04. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 15,388 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,466,938.04. The trade was a 10.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 1.10% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on ALSN. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Allison Transmission from $112.00 to $94.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Allison Transmission from $110.00 to $98.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Allison Transmission from $123.00 to $100.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Allison Transmission from $108.00 to $95.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Allison Transmission from $115.00 to $110.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Monday. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of $97.88.

Allison Transmission Company Profile

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.