Van ECK Associates Corp Cuts Stake in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN)

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its stake in Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:ALSN - Free Report) by 16.1% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 68,550 shares of the auto parts company's stock after selling 13,138 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp owned approximately 0.08% of Allison Transmission worth $7,408,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. DGS Capital Management LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 84 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Allison Transmission by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 15,370 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $1,661,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP increased its stake in Allison Transmission by 46.7% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 358 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 114 shares during the period. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd lifted its position in shares of Allison Transmission by 3.5% during the third quarter. Harvest Fund Management Co. Ltd now owns 3,697 shares of the auto parts company's stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Allison Transmission by 27.8% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 744 shares of the auto parts company's stock valued at $71,000 after purchasing an additional 162 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 96.90% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

ALSN has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Allison Transmission from $82.00 to $94.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Allison Transmission from $103.00 to $108.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. StockNews.com cut Allison Transmission from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target 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, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Allison Transmission from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $100.75.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO David S. Graziosi sold 1,723 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $120.26, for a total transaction of $207,207.98. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 168,833 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,303,856.58. This trade represents a 1.01 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP John Coll sold 2,000 shares of Allison Transmission stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $108.40, for a total transaction of $216,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,420 shares in the company, valued at $695,928. The trade was a 23.75 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 20,639 shares of company stock valued at $2,448,077. 1.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Allison Transmission Stock Down 1.6 %

Shares of NYSE ALSN traded down $1.60 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $100.76. 667,829 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 613,780. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $111.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $104.21. The company has a market cap of $8.62 billion, a PE ratio of 12.13 and a beta of 1.00. Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. has a twelve month low of $71.35 and a twelve month high of $122.53. 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 (NYSE:ALSN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 11th. The auto parts company reported $2.01 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.90 by $0.11. Allison Transmission had a net margin of 22.67% and a return on equity of 47.95%. Research analysts predict that Allison Transmission Holdings, Inc. will post 9.06 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Allison Transmission Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 14th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 3rd will be paid a $0.27 dividend. This represents a $1.08 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.07%. The ex-dividend date is Monday, March 3rd. This is an increase from Allison Transmission's previous quarterly dividend of $0.25. Allison Transmission's dividend payout ratio is currently 12.03%.

Allison Transmission declared that its board has initiated a share buyback program on Thursday, February 20th that authorizes the company to buyback $5.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the auto parts company to buy up to 57.1% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are typically an indication that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Allison Transmission 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.