Halma (LON:HLMA) Sets New 52-Week High - Still a Buy?

Key Points

• Halma plc (LON:HLMA) reached a new 52-week high, trading at £3,346 ($45.44), as analysts continue to express positive sentiment, with Goldman Sachs and Berenberg Bank issuing "buy" ratings and price targets of £3,740 and £3,750 respectively.
• The company has a market cap of £12.61 billion and reported a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 15.87%, while analysts predict earnings per share of about 90.56 for the current year.
• Recent insider activity includes the purchase of 2,000 shares by Hudson La Force and the sale of over 36,000 shares by Marc Ronchetti, indicating a mixed sentiment from company insiders.

Shares of Halma plc (LON:HLMA - Get Free Report) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Friday . The company traded as high as GBX 3,346 ($45.44) and last traded at GBX 3,342 ($45.38), with a volume of 3515803 shares. The stock had previously closed at GBX 3,332 ($45.25).

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have commented on HLMA shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Halma in a research note on Thursday, August 7th. They issued a "buy" rating and a GBX 3,740 price target for the company. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on shares of Halma from GBX 3,250 to GBX 3,750 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Shore Capital reissued a "hold" rating and issued a GBX 3,200 price target on shares of Halma in a research note on Tuesday, August 26th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price target on shares of Halma from GBX 3,200 to GBX 3,290 and gave the stock a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, September 5th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Halma currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average target price of GBX 3,316.

Halma Stock Up 0.2%

The company has a market cap of £12.61 billion, a PE ratio of 4,273.86, a PEG ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.53. The stock's 50 day moving average price is GBX 3,246.18 and its 200-day moving average price is GBX 2,967.82. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 45.83, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.45.

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 (EPS) for the quarter. Halma had a net margin of 13.21% and a return on equity of 15.87%. On average, analysts predict that Halma plc will post 90.5626134 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Halma

In other news, insider Hudson La Force purchased 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 16th. The stock was bought at an average cost of GBX 4,288 per share, for a total transaction of £85,760. Also, insider Marc Ronchetti sold 36,245 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 3,248, for a total transaction of £1,177,237.60. Insiders sold 65,175 shares of company stock worth $211,232,540 in the last three months. 0.81% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Halma Company Profile

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.