Diploma (LON:DPLM) Hits New 1-Year High Following Insider Buying Activity

Key Points

• Diploma PLC hit a new 52-week high after insider buying helped lift investor sentiment, with shares trading as high as GBX 7,360.
• Insiders Katie Bickerstaffe and Wilson Ng bought additional shares on July 16, signaling continued confidence in the company.
• Analysts remain generally positive on the stock, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of about GBX 7,044.

Diploma PLC (LON:DPLM - Get Free Report)'s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday after an insider bought additional shares in the company. The company traded as high as GBX 7,360 and last traded at GBX 7,355, with a volume of 4569454 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 7,240.

Specifically, insider Katie Bickerstaffe  bought 47 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 16th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of GBX 7,050 per share, with a total value of £3,313.50. Also, insider Wilson Ng acquired 424 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of GBX 7,066 per share, for a total transaction of £29,959.84. In other news, insider Katie Bickerstaffe  purchased 133 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 16th. The shares were purchased at an average price of GBX 7,048 per share, with a total value of £9,373.84.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price target on shares of Diploma from GBX 7,300 to GBX 7,400 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating and set a GBX 7,000 price target on shares of Diploma in a research report on Friday, May 29th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upped their price objective on Diploma from GBX 6,400 to GBX 7,200 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 20th. Berenberg Bank reissued a "buy" rating and set a GBX 9,000 target price on shares of Diploma in a research note on Monday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Diploma from GBX 5,120 to GBX 5,760 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 7,044.29.

Diploma Stock Up 1.5%

The business's 50 day moving average is GBX 6,970.25 and its 200-day moving average is GBX 6,243.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 47.65, a current ratio of 2.06 and a quick ratio of 0.80. The company has a market cap of £9.86 billion, a PE ratio of 52.20, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.92.

Diploma (LON:DPLM - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 19th. The company reported GBX 74.70 earnings per share for the quarter. Diploma had a return on equity of 18.55% and a net margin of 9.42%.The company had revenue of £851.10 million for the quarter. As a group, analysts predict that Diploma PLC will post 163.7995512 EPS for the current year.

About Diploma

Diploma PLC, together with its subsidiaries, supplies specialized technical products and services in the United Kingdom, Continental Europe, North America, and internationally. It operates through three business sectors: Life Sciences, Seals, and Controls. The Life Sciences sector supplies technology-enabled products used in surgical procedures in operating theatres and endoscopy; testing equipment and services for clinical laboratories; and bio-pharma, food safety and testing, and other research-oriented products.

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