NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan Invests $211,000 in Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE)

NJ State Employees Deferred Compensation Plan acquired a new stake in shares of Allegion plc (NYSE:ALLE) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 1,666 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock, valued at approximately $211,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Allegion by 7.8% in the fourth quarter. Pittenger & Anderson Inc. now owns 34,940 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $4,427,000 after buying an additional 2,515 shares during the last quarter. South Dakota Investment Council grew its holdings in shares of Allegion by 100.0% in the 4th quarter. South Dakota Investment Council now owns 1,300 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $165,000 after purchasing an additional 650 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd grew its holdings in Allegion by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 8,351 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $1,058,000 after acquiring an additional 349 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Allegion by 20.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 765 shares of the scientific and technical instruments company’s stock worth $97,000 after acquiring an additional 132 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Verdence Capital Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Allegion during the 4th quarter worth about $309,000. 92.21% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Allegion

In other news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.99, for a total transaction of $656,059.53. Following the sale, the vice president now directly owns 35,567 shares in the company, valued at $4,623,354.33. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Allegion news, VP Timothy P. Eckersley sold 5,047 shares of the 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 owns 35,567 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,623,354.33. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert C. Martens sold 5,391 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $132.84, for a total transaction of $716,140.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 7,555 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,003,606.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.90% of the company’s stock.

Allegion Price Performance

Allegion stock traded down $1.02 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $123.85. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 975,466 shares, compared to its average volume of 715,933. Allegion plc has a 52 week low of $95.94 and a 52 week high of $136.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.22. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $130.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $119.52. The stock has a market cap of $10.83 billion, a PE ratio of 20.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Allegion (NYSE:ALLE) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The scientific and technical instruments company reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.41 by $0.14. Allegion had a return on equity of 51.95% and a net margin of 14.80%. The firm had revenue of $893.90 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $888.27 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.58 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 3.2% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Allegion plc will post 7.02 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 issued a dividend of $0.48 per share. This represents a $1.92 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.55%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, June 13th. Allegion’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.37%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

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

Allegion Company 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.