Halma plc (LON:HLMA) Receives Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Ten firms collectively rate Halma “Moderate Buy,” with six buys, three holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is £4,809.30.
• Halma reported quarterly earnings per share of GBX 114.05 and revenue of GBX 258.23 billion, while analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately 90.56p.
• The shares opened at GBX 3,538, below their 50-day and 200-day moving averages, and insiders have sold 75,188 shares worth approximately $291 million over the past 90 days.

Shares of Halma plc (LON:HLMA - Get Free Report) have been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the ten research firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have given a hold recommendation and six have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is £4,809.30.

HLMA has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Halma from GBX 3,700 to GBX 4,600 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Jefferies Financial Group restated an "underperform" rating and set a GBX 3,050 target price on shares of Halma in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. UBS Group reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a £47,750 price target on shares of Halma in a report on Friday, June 5th. Shore Capital Group reiterated a "hold" rating on shares of Halma in a research report on Monday, April 13th. Finally, Berenberg Bank reissued a "buy" rating and set a GBX 4,200 price objective on shares of Halma in a research note on Thursday, July 16th.

Halma Stock Performance

Shares of HLMA stock opened at GBX 3,538 on Tuesday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of GBX 4,087.66 and a 200 day moving average price of GBX 4,009.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 42.13, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 2.14. The stock has a market cap of £13.36 billion, a PE ratio of 36.04, a P/E/G ratio of 2.93 and a beta of 0.98. Halma has a 1 year low of GBX 3,191.38 and a 1 year high of GBX 4,902.

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

Insider Activity at Halma

In other Halma news, insider Marc Ronchetti sold 49,664 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 3,934, for a total transaction of £1,953,781.76. Also, insider Jennifer Ward sold 13,145 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of GBX 3,645, for a total value of £479,135.25. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 75,188 shares of company stock valued at $291,007,831. 0.83% of the stock is owned by corporate 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 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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