Haleon (NYSE:HLN) Upgraded to "Overweight" at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley upgraded shares of Haleon (NYSE:HLN - Free Report) from an equal weight rating to an overweight rating in a research note published on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has $11.25 price objective on the stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Hsbc Global Res lowered Haleon from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "hold" rating on shares of Haleon in a research report on Monday, March 3rd. HSBC restated a "hold" rating on shares of Haleon in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Finally, Barclays reissued an "overweight" rating on shares of Haleon in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $11.25.

Haleon Price Performance

Haleon stock traded down $0.01 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $10.44. The company had a trading volume of 21,852,779 shares, compared to its average volume of 12,356,874. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $10.21 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.85. The company has a market cap of $47.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.71, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.24. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.44. Haleon has a fifty-two week low of $8.24 and a fifty-two week high of $10.85.

Haleon (NYSE:HLN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 27th. The company reported $0.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The business had revenue of $3.54 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.38 billion. Haleon had a net margin of 10.85% and a return on equity of 14.76%. On average, equities research analysts predict that Haleon will post 0.43 earnings per share for the current year.

Haleon Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a -- dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, June 5th. Shareholders of record on Friday, April 25th will be issued a $0.1166 dividend. This represents a yield of 1.6%. This is a boost from Haleon's previous -- dividend of $0.05. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 25th. Haleon's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.97%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Haleon

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Farther Finance Advisors LLC increased its position in 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 buying an additional 1,041 shares in the last quarter. Addison Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Haleon by 28.7% during the fourth quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 4,954 shares of the company's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 1,106 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Haleon by 5.4% during the first quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC now owns 21,722 shares of the company's stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the period. Simplicity Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Haleon by 7.9% in the 1st quarter. Simplicity Wealth LLC now owns 15,482 shares of the company's stock worth $159,000 after purchasing an additional 1,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Holistic Financial Partners grew its position in Haleon by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Holistic Financial Partners now owns 13,379 shares of the company's stock valued at $138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,172 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 6.67% of the company's stock.

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.