Halma plc (LON:HLMA) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Shares of Halma plc (LON:HLMA) have earned an average recommendation of “Hold” from the nine research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and five have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is £5,339.51.

HLMA has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed an “underperform” rating and set a GBX 3,050 target price on shares of Halma in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Berenberg Bank reissued a “buy” rating and issued a GBX 4,200 price target on shares of Halma in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. Citigroup raised their price target on Halma from GBX 3,700 to GBX 4,600 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a £47,750 price objective on shares of Halma in a research note on Friday, June 5th.

Halma Stock Up 1.0%

Shares of LON HLMA opened at GBX 3,510 on Friday. Halma has a 1 year low of GBX 3,194 and a 1 year high of GBX 4,902. The firm’s 50-day moving average is GBX 3,733.84 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 4,006.51. The company has a current ratio of 2.14, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 42.13. The firm has a market capitalization of £13.26 billion, a PE ratio of 35.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.97.

Halma (LON:HLMA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, June 11th. The company reported GBX 114.05 earnings per share for the quarter. Halma had a net margin of 14.42% and a return on equity of 17.92%. The business had revenue of GBX 258.23 billion during the quarter. Equities analysts expect that Halma will post 90.5626134 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Jennifer Ward sold 13,145 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 3,645, for a total transaction of £479,135.25. Also, insider Marc Ronchetti sold 49,664 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 3,934, for a total value of £1,953,781.76. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 122,188 shares of company stock worth $470,218,831. Insiders own 0.83% 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 9,000 people in more than 20 countries, with major operations in the UK, Mainland Europe, the USA and Asia Pacific.