Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC Sells 845,384 Shares of Haleon PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:HLN)

Key Points

• Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC significantly reduced its stake in Haleon PLC by 80.7%, now holding 202,783 shares worth approximately $2.09 million.
• Haleon recently increased its semi-annual dividend to $0.0555, up from $0.05, with a high payout ratio of 64.10%.
• Several analysts upgraded Haleon's ratings, with BNP Paribas raising it to a "strong-buy" and setting a target price of $13.40.

Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Haleon PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:HLN - Free Report) by 80.7% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 202,783 shares of the company's stock after selling 845,384 shares during the period. Exencial Wealth Advisors LLC's holdings in Haleon were worth $2,087,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in HLN. Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Haleon during the fourth quarter worth $45,110,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Haleon during the fourth quarter worth $42,193,000. Northern Trust Corp grew 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 last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada grew 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 last quarter. Finally, Voloridge Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Haleon during the fourth quarter worth $5,499,000. 6.67% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

HLN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Haleon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Saturday, July 12th. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Haleon from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $13.40 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays reaffirmed an "overweight" rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. BNP Paribas raised shares of Haleon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised shares of Haleon from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.25 price target for the company in a research note on Friday, May 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.33.

Haleon Trading Up 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:HLN traded up $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $9.53. The stock had a trading volume of 8,382,990 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,125,817. The firm's fifty day moving average is $10.19 and its 200 day moving average is $10.19. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 0.87. Haleon PLC Sponsored ADR has a 52 week low of $8.86 and a 52 week high of $11.42. The stock has a market cap of $42.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.23.

Haleon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a $0.0555 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. This represents a dividend yield of 190.0%. This is a positive change from Haleon's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. Haleon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 64.10%.

Haleon Company Profile

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.