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

Halma plc (LON:HLMA - Get Free Report)'s share price 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 ($35.34) and last traded at GBX 2,773 ($35.34), with a volume of 1297623 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,741 ($34.93).

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on HLMA. Shore Capital restated a "hold" rating on shares of Halma in a report on Thursday, November 21st. Berenberg Bank lifted their target price on shares of Halma from GBX 2,450 ($31.23) to GBX 2,700 ($34.41) and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus target price of GBX 2,587.50 ($32.98).

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Jennifer Ward sold 50,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,648 ($33.75), for a total transaction of £1,324,000 ($1,687,484.07). 2.20% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Halma Stock Up 1.1 %

The company has a market cap of £10.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,904.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.45. The stock's fifty day moving average is GBX 2,569.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is GBX 2,541.56.

Halma Cuts Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 31st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 19th will be paid a GBX 9 ($0.11) dividend. This represents a dividend yield of 0.36%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, December 19th. Halma's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.