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

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLMA has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Berenberg Bank upped their target price 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 research note on Thursday, December 5th. Shore Capital reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Halma in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of 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 analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 2,587.50 ($31.90).

Halma Trading Up 2.3 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.83, a current ratio of 2.45 and a quick ratio of 1.51. The firm 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. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is GBX 2,697.41 and its 200 day moving average price is GBX 2,614.91.

Halma (LON:HLMA) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Halma plc will post 90.5626134 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Halma Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Halma

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

About Halma

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.