Ethic Inc. Reduces Stock Holdings in Haleon PLC Sponsored ADR $HLN

Key Points

• Ethic Inc. reduced its stake in Haleon PLC by 23.3%, owning 103,187 shares valued at approximately $1,050,000 after selling 31,324 shares in the first quarter.
• Haleon announced an increase in its semi-annual dividend to $0.0555 per share, yielding 190.0%, with a payout ratio of 28.21%.
• Wall Street analysts have mixed ratings on Haleon, with two firms issuing a Strong Buy rating and an average price target of $12.33 for the stock.

Ethic Inc. cut its holdings in shares of Haleon PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:HLN - Free Report) by 23.3% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 103,187 shares of the company's stock after selling 31,324 shares during the period. Ethic Inc.'s holdings in Haleon were worth $1,050,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in HLN. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Haleon during the first quarter worth approximately $58,870,000. Point72 Asset Management L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Haleon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $45,110,000. Northern Trust Corp increased its stake in shares of Haleon by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 5,412,542 shares of the company's stock worth $51,636,000 after buying an additional 1,172,931 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake in shares of Haleon by 62.6% during the fourth quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 2,733,615 shares of the company's stock worth $26,078,000 after buying an additional 1,052,462 shares during the period. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Haleon during the fourth quarter worth approximately $5,499,000. 6.67% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

HLN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. BNP Paribas Exane raised Haleon from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $13.40 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. BNP Paribas raised Haleon to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded Haleon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Haleon in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Haleon from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.25 price target for the company in a research report on Friday, May 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.33.

Haleon Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE HLN traded down $0.0050 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $9.8050. The stock had a trading volume of 13,072,763 shares, compared to its average volume of 9,545,457. The company has a market capitalization of $44.01 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 25.14, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.63, a current ratio of 0.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Haleon PLC Sponsored ADR has a 1-year low of $8.86 and a 1-year high of $11.42. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $9.93 and a 200 day moving average price of $10.21.

Haleon Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be issued a dividend of $0.0555 per share. This represents a dividend yield of 190.0%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, August 15th. This is an increase from Haleon's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Haleon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.21%.

About Haleon

Haleon plc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the research, development, manufacture, and sale of various consumer healthcare products in North America, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Latin America, and the Asia Pacific. The company provides oral health products, such as toothpastes, mouth washes, and denture care products under the Sensodyne, Polident, Parodontax, Biotene brands; and vitamins, minerals, and supplements under Centrum, Emergen-C, Caltrate brands.