Diploma (LON:DPLM) Stock Passes Above 200 Day Moving Average – Here’s What Happened

Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM)’s share price passed above its 200-day moving average during trading on Friday . The stock has a 200-day moving average of GBX 4,323.40 ($54.33) and traded as high as GBX 4,328 ($54.39). Diploma shares last traded at GBX 4,304 ($54.09), with a volume of 535,398 shares traded.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Shore Capital downgraded shares of Diploma to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a GBX 5,100 ($64.09) target price on shares of Diploma in a report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Diploma from GBX 4,150 ($52.16) to GBX 4,370 ($54.92) and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of GBX 4,555 ($57.25).

Diploma Trading Up 0.4 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.69, a current ratio of 2.27 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The firm has a market cap of £5.77 billion, a PE ratio of 5,004.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.75. The company’s 50 day moving average price is GBX 4,409.37 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 4,324.80.

Diploma Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 16th will be given a GBX 42 ($0.53) dividend. This represents a yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 16th. This is a boost from Diploma’s previous dividend of $17.30. Diploma’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 6,627.91%.

Insider Transactions at Diploma

In other news, insider Johnny Thomson sold 26,794 shares of Diploma stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 4,536 ($57.01), for a total value of £1,215,375.84 ($1,527,429.73). Corporate insiders own 0.52% of the company’s stock.

Diploma Company Profile

Diploma PLC, together with its subsidiaries, supplies specialized technical products and services in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates through three business sectors: Life Sciences, Seals, and Controls. The Life Sciences sector supplies technology-enabled products used in surgical procedures in operating theatres and endoscopy; testing equipment and services for clinical laboratories; and bio-pharma, food safety and testing, and other research-oriented products.