Allegion plc ALLE announced twin rewards for its shareholders in the form of share buyback authorization and a hike in its quarterly dividend rate. These rewards were approved by its board of directors.We believe that such disbursements vouch for Allegion’s shareholder-friendly policies and a strong cash position. Details of Share Buyback & Quarterly DividendUnder the new buyback program, Allegion is allowed to repurchase up to $800 million worth shares. Notably, the company’s new buyback plan replaces the one that was authorized by its board in 2017.Additionally, the company announced 19% or 5 cents per share rise in the quarterly dividend rate, which now increased from 27 cents to 32 cents. On an annualized basis, the dividend raised to $1.28 per share from $1.08. This increment marks the company’s 6th consecutive year of dividend raise.Allegion will pay out the revised dividend on Mar 31, 2020 to its shareholders of record as of Mar 17.Capital-Allocation StrategiesAllegion uses free resources to strengthen its growth prospects and reward its shareholders through share buybacks and dividend payments.Over the last five years (2014-2018), the company’s annual dividend payments climbed from 32 cents per share to 84 cents. Also, it bought back shares worth $292.7 million during the same time frame.In the first nine months of 2019, the company distributed dividends totalling $75.5 million and repurchased shares worth $179.7 million.Zacks Rank, Earnings Projections and Price PerformanceThe company currently has a market capitalization of $12.4 billion and a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). It is poised to gain from a strengthening electronic business, pricing actions, improved operational efficacy and shareholder-friendly policies. However, rising costs, huge debt load and forex woes are concerning.For 2019, the company anticipates earnings per share to be $4.85-$4.90, narrowed from $4.80-$4.90 stated previously. Revenues are projected to grow 4.5-5.5% year over year. Notably, the company will release fourth-quarter 2019 results on Feb 18, 2020.Earnings estimates for Allegion have been lowered in the past 60 days. Currently, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the bottom line is pegged at $4.87 for 2019 and $5.34 for 2020, indicating a downward revision of 0.4% and 0.2% each from the respective 60-day-ago figures.Allegion PLC Price and Consensus Allegion PLC price-consensus-chart | Allegion PLC QuoteIn the past three months, the stock has rallied 14.5% against the industry’s decline of 3.8%. Stocks to ConsiderSome better-ranked stocks in the industry are Intellicheck, Inc. IDN, Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. ALRM and Johnson Controls International plc JCI. While Intellicheck sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), both Alarm.com and Johnson Controls carry a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.Current-year earnings estimates for Intellicheck and Johnson Controls have moved north over the past 60 days while the same for Alarm.com was stable. Further, the trailing four-quarter positive earnings surprise for Intellicheck, Johnson Controls and Alarm.com is 4.76%, 16.93% and 4.43% each, on average. Just Released: Zacks’ 7 Best Stocks for TodayExperts extracted 7 stocks from the list of 220 Zacks Rank #1 Strong Buys that has beaten the market more than 2X over with a stunning average gain of +24.7% per year.These 7 were selected because of their superior potential for immediate breakout. See these time-sensitive tickers now >>Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Johnson Controls International plc (JCI): Free Stock Analysis Report Allegion PLC (ALLE): Free Stock Analysis Report Alarm.com Holdings, Inc. (ALRM): Free Stock Analysis Report Intellicheck Mobilisa, Inc. (IDN): Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research