Halma (LON:HLMA) Hits New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Halma plc (LON:HLMA) hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as GBX 2,816 ($34.72) and last traded at GBX 2,816 ($34.72), with a volume of 12849668 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,801 ($34.53).

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. Shore Capital reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Halma in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Berenberg Bank upped their price target on shares of Halma from GBX 2,450 ($30.21) to GBX 2,700 ($33.29) and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Halma to a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 2,600 ($32.06) price objective for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halma has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of GBX 2,587.50 ($31.90).

Halma Stock Performance

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 firm’s fifty day moving average price is GBX 2,697.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 2,614.91. The stock has a market capitalization of £10.94 billion, a PE ratio of 4,085.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53.

Halma (LON:HLMA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 21st. The company reported GBX 43.01 ($0.53) 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, equities research analysts forecast that Halma plc will post 90.5626134 EPS for the current year.

Halma Cuts Dividend

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Halma news, insider Jennifer Ward sold 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 2,648 ($32.65), for a total transaction of £1,324,000 ($1,632,351.13). Also, insider Carole Cran bought 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 2,659 ($32.78) per share, for a total transaction of £212,720 ($262,261.13). 2.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.