Halma (LON:HLMA) Hits New 52-Week High Following Analyst Upgrade

Halma plc (LON:HLMA) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded the stock to a neutral rating. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now has a GBX 2,600 price target on the stock. Halma traded as high as GBX 2,773 ($35.35) and last traded at GBX 2,773 ($35.35), with a volume of 1297623 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,741 ($34.94).

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on the company. Shore Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Halma in a research report on Thursday, November 21st. Berenberg Bank upped their price objective on Halma from GBX 2,450 ($31.23) to GBX 2,700 ($34.42) and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of GBX 2,587.50 ($32.99).

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Ward sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,648 ($33.76), for a total value of £1,324,000 ($1,687,914.33). Company insiders own 2.20% of the company’s stock.

Halma Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of £10.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,904.23, a P/E/G 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 company has a 50 day moving average of GBX 2,569.68 and a 200 day moving average of GBX 2,541.56.

Halma Cuts Dividend

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

About Halma

Halma plc, together its subsidiaries, provides technology solutions in the safety, health, and environmental markets in the United States, Mainland Europe, the United Kingdom, the Asia Pacific, Africa, the Middle East, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Safety, Environmental & Analysis, and Healthcare.