Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. Buys 37,577 Shares of Haleon PLC Sponsored ADR $HLN

Key Points

• Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. increased its stake in Haleon PLC by 60.2%, acquiring an additional 37,577 shares, bringing their total holdings to 99,997 shares valued at over $1 million.
• Haleon recently announced a semi-annual dividend increase, now offering $0.0555 per share, effective with a dividend yield of 190.0% based on the latest payout ratio of 64.10%.
• Analyst ratings for Haleon show a consensus of "Moderate Buy" with significant upgrades from BNP Paribas and Morgan Stanley, alongside mixed assessments from other brokerages.

Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. lifted its position in shares of Haleon PLC Sponsored ADR (NYSE:HLN - Free Report) by 60.2% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 99,997 shares of the company's stock after buying an additional 37,577 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc.'s holdings in Haleon were worth $1,029,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Haleon by 8.8% in the 1st quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 12,861 shares of the company's stock valued at $131,000 after purchasing an additional 1,041 shares during the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Haleon by 5.4% in the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,722 shares of the company's stock valued at $224,000 after buying an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in Haleon by 7.9% in the first quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 15,482 shares of the company's stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 1,135 shares during the period. Holistic Financial Partners boosted its position in Haleon by 9.6% during the first quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 13,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,000 after acquiring an additional 1,172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AE Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Haleon by 6.5% during the 1st quarter. AE Wealth Management LLC now owns 19,323 shares of the company's stock worth $199,000 after acquiring an additional 1,186 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 6.67% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on HLN. BNP Paribas Exane raised shares of Haleon from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $13.40 price objective on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Haleon from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, July 12th. BNP Paribas upgraded Haleon to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 27th. Barclays reiterated an "overweight" rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upgraded Haleon from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and set a $11.25 target price on the stock 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 given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $12.33.

Haleon Price Performance

Haleon stock traded down $0.0950 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $9.8150. 4,589,787 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 12,889,767. Haleon PLC Sponsored ADR has a 52 week low of $8.86 and a 52 week high of $11.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48, a quick ratio of 0.63 and a current ratio of 0.87. The firm has a market cap of $44.05 billion, a PE ratio of 25.17, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.23. The company's fifty day moving average is $9.97 and its 200-day moving average is $10.20.

Haleon Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a semi-annual dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 18th. Investors of record on Friday, August 15th will be paid a dividend of $0.0555 per share. This is a positive change from Haleon's previous semi-annual dividend of $0.05. This represents a yield of 190.0%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, August 15th. Haleon's dividend payout ratio is 28.21%.

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.