Watchtower Advisors LP Invests $18.66 Million in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

Watchtower Advisors LP bought a new stake in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE - Free Report) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 128,000 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock, valued at approximately $18,655,000. Allegion makes up approximately 8.6% of Watchtower Advisors LP's portfolio, making the stock its 6th largest position. Watchtower Advisors LP owned about 0.15% of Allegion at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Allegion by 280.4% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 13,091 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $1,763,000 after purchasing an additional 9,650 shares during the period. Cetera Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Allegion by 90.5% during the first quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 4,891 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock valued at $659,000 after buying an additional 2,324 shares during the period. CWM LLC grew its position in Allegion by 47.3% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 3,018 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company's stock worth $357,000 after buying an additional 969 shares in the last quarter. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in Allegion in the 2nd quarter worth about $3,762,000. Finally, OLD National Bancorp IN purchased a new stake in shares of Allegion in the 2nd quarter valued at about $440,000. 92.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Allegion Trading Up 0.1 %

Allegion stock traded up $0.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $140.49. The company's stock had a trading volume of 760,439 shares, compared to its average volume of 728,148. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $143.65 and a 200-day moving average price of $133.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.71 and a quick ratio of 1.29. Allegion plc has a 12 month low of $104.25 and a 12 month high of $156.10. The stock has a market cap of $12.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 1.10.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $2.16 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.18. Allegion had a return on equity of 45.64% and a net margin of 15.36%. The firm had revenue of $967.10 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $970.70 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.94 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Allegion plc will post 7.41 EPS for the current year.

Allegion Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, December 31st. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, December 17th will be paid a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.37%. Allegion's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 29.49%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently weighed in on ALLE shares. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Allegion from $135.00 to $137.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Allegion from $137.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Monday, October 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Allegion from $145.00 to $152.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Allegion from $135.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $144.60.

Insider Transactions at Allegion

In other Allegion news, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 8,035 shares of Allegion stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $144.92, for a total transaction of $1,164,432.20. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,104 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,029,511.68. The trade was a 53.07 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John H. Stone bought 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $140.70 per share, with a total value of $1,055,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 120,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $16,951,676.70. This represents a 6.64 % increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.