Halma (LON:HLMA) Sets New 12-Month High – Time to Buy?

Halma plc (LON:HLMA) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as GBX 2,977 ($36.97) and last traded at GBX 2,968 ($36.86), with a volume of 12646563 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at GBX 2,944 ($36.56).

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of Halma from GBX 2,450 ($30.43) to GBX 2,700 ($33.53) and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, December 5th. Shore Capital restated a “hold” rating on shares of Halma in a research note on Thursday, November 21st. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Halma to a “neutral” rating and set a GBX 2,600 ($32.29) target price for the company in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Halma presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of GBX 2,587.50 ($32.13).

Halma Stock Performance

The company’s fifty day simple moving average is GBX 2,755.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is GBX 2,627.12. 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 has a market capitalization of £11.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 4,311.86, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53.

Halma (LON:HLMA) last released 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 return on equity of 16.12% and a net margin of 13.21%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Halma plc will post 90.5626134 EPS for the current year.

Halma Cuts Dividend

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Halma

In other news, insider Jennifer Ward sold 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 2,648 ($32.89), for a total transaction of £1,324,000 ($1,644,311.97). Also, insider Carole Cran purchased 8,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 13th. The stock was bought at an average price of GBX 2,659 ($33.02) per share, for a total transaction of £212,720 ($264,182.81). Insiders own 2.20% 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 8,000 people in more than 20 countries, with major operations in the UK, Mainland Europe, the USA and Asia Pacific.