Shore Capital Reiterates "Hold" Rating for Halma (LON:HLMA)

Key Points

• Shore Capital has maintained a "hold" rating on Halma (LON:HLMA), with a price target of GBX 3,200, indicating a potential downside of 2.32% from its previous close.
• Goldman Sachs initiated coverage on Halma with a "buy" rating and a higher price target of GBX 3,740, contrasting with the current consensus rating of "hold" among analysts.
• Insiders have sold a significant amount of Halma shares recently, totaling over £1 million, which raises questions about the stock's future performance given that 2.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Halma (LON:HLMA - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold" rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at Shore Capital in a research note issued on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a GBX 3,200 price objective on the stock. Shore Capital's price objective would indicate a potential downside of 2.68% from the stock's current price.

Separately, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Halma in a report on Thursday, August 7th. They set a "buy" rating and a GBX 3,740 target price for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Halma has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of GBX 3,060.

Halma Stock Down 0.4%

Shares of LON HLMA traded down GBX 12 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching GBX 3,288. 538,124 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 958,434. Halma has a 52-week low of GBX 2,316 and a 52-week high of GBX 3,344.60. The stock has a market capitalization of £12.42 billion, a PE ratio of 4,207.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.45. The business's fifty day moving average price is GBX 3,233.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is GBX 2,947.69.

Halma (LON:HLMA - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, June 12th. The company reported GBX 94.23 earnings per share for the quarter. Halma had a return on equity of 15.87% and a net margin of 13.21%. Analysts forecast that Halma will post 90.5626134 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Halma

In other Halma news, insider Hudson La Force acquired 2,000 shares of Halma stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 16th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of GBX 4,288 per share, for a total transaction of £85,760. Also, insider Jennifer Ward sold 19,020 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 3,248, for a total value of £617,769.60. Over the last three months, insiders sold 65,175 shares of company stock worth $211,232,540. Company insiders own 0.81% of the company's stock.

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 8,000 people in more than 20 countries, with major operations in the UK, Mainland Europe, the USA and Asia Pacific.