Halma (LON:HLMA) Reaches New 52-Week High – Time to Buy?

Halma plc (LON:HLMA) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The company traded as high as GBX 2,977 ($37.04) and last traded at GBX 2,968 ($36.93), with a volume of 12646563 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,944 ($36.63).

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Halma to a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 2,600 ($32.35) target price on the stock in a report on Friday, December 6th. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on shares of Halma from GBX 2,450 ($30.48) to GBX 2,700 ($33.59) and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, Shore Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Halma in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Halma currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 2,587.50 ($32.19).

Halma Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of £11.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 4,208.45, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a current ratio of 2.45, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.83. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is GBX 2,734.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is GBX 2,622.38.

Halma (LON:HLMA) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported GBX 43.01 ($0.54) earnings per share for the quarter. Halma had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 16.12%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Halma plc will post 90.5626134 earnings per share for the current year.

Halma Cuts Dividend

The business also recently announced a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a dividend of GBX 9 ($0.11) per share. This represents a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, December 19th. Halma’s payout ratio is 3,098.59%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Jennifer Ward sold 50,000 shares of Halma stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,648 ($32.95), for a total transaction of £1,324,000 ($1,647,380.86). Also, insider Carole Cran purchased 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 2,659 ($33.08) per share, with a total value of £212,720 ($264,675.87). Insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Halma Company Profile

Halma is a global group of life-saving technology companies, focused on growing a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day. Its purpose defines the three broad markets it operates in:

– Safety – Protecting people’s safety and the environment as populations grow, and enhancing worker safety.
– Environment – Addressing the impacts of climate change, pollution and waste, protecting life-critical resources and supporting scientific research.
– Health – Meeting the increasing demand for better healthcare as chronic illness rises, driven by growing and ageing populations and lifestyle changes.

Halma employs over 8,000 people in more than 20 countries, with major operations in the UK, Mainland Europe, the USA and Asia Pacific.