Halma (LON:HLMA) Receives "Buy" Rating from Berenberg Bank

Key Points

• Berenberg Bank reiterated its “buy” rating on Halma and set a GBX 4,200 price target, implying about 14.9% upside from the current share price.
• Halma has attracted mixed analyst views overall, but the consensus remains “Moderate Buy” with an average price target of £4,809.30.
• The stock was trading at GBX 3,654 and had recently reported quarterly EPS of GBX 114.05, while insider trading included a small purchase by one director and a larger sale by another.

Halma (LON:HLMA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating restated by equities research analysts at Berenberg Bank in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,London Stock Exchange reports. They currently have a GBX 4,200 target price on the stock. Berenberg Bank's price target would suggest a potential upside of 14.94% from the stock's current price.

HLMA has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Halma from GBX 3,700 to GBX 4,600 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group reissued an "underperform" rating and issued a GBX 3,050 price objective on shares of Halma in a research note on Thursday, June 11th. Shore Capital Group reaffirmed a "hold" rating on shares of Halma in a research note on Monday, April 13th. Finally, UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a £47,750 target price on shares of Halma in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Halma has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of £4,809.30.

Halma Stock Up 0.7%

HLMA opened at GBX 3,654 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of £13.80 billion, a PE ratio of 37.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. Halma has a twelve month low of GBX 3,191.38 and a twelve month high of GBX 4,902. The company has a 50-day moving average price of GBX 4,235.47 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 4,004.43. The company has a quick ratio of 1.51, a current ratio of 2.14 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 42.13.

Halma (LON:HLMA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 11th. The company reported GBX 114.05 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Halma had a return on equity of 17.92% and a net margin of 14.42%.The company had revenue of GBX 258.23 billion for the quarter. Sell-side analysts expect that Halma will post 90.5626134 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Halma

In related news, insider Sharmila Nebhrajani acquired 248 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 15th. The shares were bought at an average price of GBX 4,063 per share, with a total value of £10,076.24. Also, insider Marc Ronchetti sold 49,664 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 3,934, for a total value of £1,953,781.76. 0.83% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

About Halma

Halma is a global group of life-saving technology companies, focused on growing a safer, cleaner, healthier future for everyone, every day. Its purpose defines the three broad markets it operates in: - Safety - Protecting people's safety and the environment as populations grow, and enhancing worker safety. - Environment - Addressing the impacts of climate change, pollution and waste, protecting life-critical resources and supporting scientific research. - Health - Meeting the increasing demand for better healthcare as chronic illness rises, driven by growing and ageing populations and lifestyle changes. Halma employs over 9,000 people in more than 20 countries, with major operations in the UK, Mainland Europe, the USA and Asia Pacific.

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